Hardline
by Sir Ludwig
Summary: Ayato's life changed the moment he became another dog of war, a life where it was filled with nothing but death and destruction as the world around him fell apart. When a conflict was brewing, he would be the first to spill the enemy's blood...
1. Chapter 1

" _All warfare is based on deception._ " - Unknown

* * *

 **Asterisk City, Japan**

 **April 16th, 2025**

Ayato caught it almost by reflex as it fluttered down from the sky.

Appearing to shine brilliantly in the first rays of the early summer sun, looking for an instant so much like a snow-white feather what he grasped in his hand was nothing quite so spectacular; it was just a handkerchief.

Judging from the embroidery of the lovely, yet clumsy flower pattern, it was likely not a manufactured item, but handmade. It seemed a little worn, and closer inspection revealed the vestiges of past repairs.

The deep sentiment its owner held for that handkerchief was clearly conveyed. It was inconceivable that it had been intentionally discarded.

"...Was it stolen by the wind?"

If that was the case, then where on earth did it come from...? Looking around as he thought that, Ayato smiled wryly.

After all, Ayato had only just now arrived at this city - and also only just arrived at Seidoukan Academy. Having arrived a little earlier than expected, he'd gone for a stroll around the school grounds to kill time until his appointment, but the site was so large that he had no sense of his current location. Even if he'd followed the footpath, and thus wasn't lost per se, there was still no way for a newcomer to find the handkerchief's owner.

"It can't be helped; I'll turn it in at the office later."

Anyway, since he would meet with the Student Council President after this, he could hand it over then. Thinking that, Ayato carefully folded the handkerchief and put it in his pocket. The current time would still be regarded as the early morning, and birdsong echoed through the boardwalk surrounded by bright green trees.

Looking at the scenery, so abundantly favored with nature's grace, it was hard to imagine this was an artificial island. Nonetheless, this was just one section of Asterisk City, very well-known throughout the world for what it provided in. It went without saying that no expense had been spared when it came to grounds keeping.

However, Ayato was brought to his senses after hearing a faintly panicked voice from the other side of such trees.

Clear as a bell, and lovely enough not to lose out to the small birds' singing, and yet a voice which revealed a strong will.

"Ahhh! Of all the things that could happen, why at a time like this...!"

But, listening carefully, the content of what he overheard could hardly be referred to as lovely. Turning in the direction of the voice, he looked up at a room with a large, open window. Standing in a location set a little away from the footpath was a building of neat and classic structure.

"Anyway, I'd better go after it before it flies far away...!"

The voice, which floated over from the other side of the fluttering curtain, was filled with urgency.

"... I see."

Ayato turned his gaze to his pocket before looking up once again at the room.

Originally, the young boy was perceptive in combat, while in normal situations he wasn't by any stretch of the imagination, as combat was all the boy knew throughout his very early life, it's all that he lived for.

Nonetheless, if it was, after all, a situation as easy to understand as this, then it was another matter.

"The fourth floor, huh... Well, since there are also footholds, I think there shouldn't be a problem."

Though there was an iron fence about two meters high between the walkway and the building, Ayato jumped over it lightly, without needing a running start. Taking hold of a nearby tree branch, he casually climbed up.

For Ayato, a member of the Genestella, or the Starpulse Generation, such a task was indeed trivial. Add in his own 'personal' training, this only made task like scaling high areas quite easier than it seemed to be.

"Hup...!"

The target room was located further above the trees, but Ayato jumped from a handy branch to the window frame in one go. Arching his body like a cat, he landed almost soundlessly.

"Errr, sorry to just pop in like this. By chance a little while ago, this handkerchief..."

Ayato had chosen the quickest way. Since the voice's owner seemed to have been quite in the hurry, he'd thought that handing it over the sooner the better was best after all.

It was a simple, pure intent. Assuredly. Nevertheless, his good intentions had resulted in problems - and big ones at that - of which there were two.

One was that the building was the High School Girls Dormitory of Seidoukan Academy. And another was that the owner of the room was just in the middle of getting dressed.

"Eh...?"

"Huh...?"

The girl, who was slipping her foot into a skirt, and Ayato stared at one another's faces with altogether dumbfounded expressions.

The girl's age seemed around the same as Ayato's, seventeen or eighteen years old.

With bright blue eyes like young leaves. With the bridge of the nose straight (high straight along the nose), and skin as white as fresh snow. The color of the long hair which flowed down to her waist was not so deep as to be called scarlet, though also too bright red to call pink. If you had to pick a color... it would be rose. Her face was also stunningly beautiful.

Though it was his first time meeting her, Ayato was captivated.

Besides, the girl was now half-naked.

The two people, for a while, did not move, as if frozen solid. The uniform buttons were undone on her upper body, and even her underwear was exposed. Since her body was bent, her bosom was also completely visible. The swelling of her bosom was modest, but the curves of her body were distinctly feminine, and her waist was slim. Her healthy and flexible legs were nimbly stretching on her toes, and drawing his gaze, shining between her thighs, was lovely, pure white underwear.

This sort of clumsy, half-naked appearance was definitely more sensational than full-on nudity.

The two people, for a while, did not move, as if frozen solid. Since the girl was in a situation where she had one leg raised, one could say that she had an amazing sense of balance.

It was as if time had stopped, but of course, things could not simply continue in this manner.

It was Ayato who came to his senses first.

"So-Sorry! Please don't overreact...I wasn't trying to peep on you by any means..."

Although he somehow tried to explain himself, his words fumbled as they came out. The black-haired teen never hung around the opposite sex very often with what he's been doing these last few years taking up his time. And besides, girls were the last thing he wanted to deal with over there.

Such a place was not fit for the weak, and Ayato knew that very well.

He tried to cover his eyes with both his hands for the time being, but he could perfectly see her charming appearance from the gap between his fingers.

"Wh-wh-wh...!"

The girl, on the other hand, had finally grasped the situation. Her face dyed bright red, she flapped her mouth open and closed.

Was it out of shame, or anger, or both?

Ayato resigned himself for the scream that was inevitably coming. As the girl deeply inhaled while hurriedly covering her body, with tears in the edge of her eyes, she fiercely glared at Ayato.

"Tu-turn the other way!" She said in a low voice with barely repressed emotions.

"Eh?"

"It's fine, just turn around already!"

At that peremptory tone, he obeyed in a hurry. The light sound of clothes rustling came from behind him. In addition to that, there was also a somehow strangely nice smell. Ayato was unable to settle down. Furthermore, he was still situated on the window frame. A moment of carelessness would be all it would take to plunge down below. Almost losing his balance to occasional bursts of wind, he waited for several minutes.

"Phew... O-okay, it's fine."

Finally hearing her voice, Ayato turned his head back and saw a splendidly beautiful girl.

That figure, which was wearing an impeccable uniform, was filled with grace and elegance, to the point that her earlier appearance seemed to be a lie. Though her moody expression and her severe gaze clearly conveyed her bad mood, it still looked somehow lovely.

As Ayato was unintentionally admiring her, the girl cut straight to the point.

"So, the handkerchief?"

"...Yes?"

"Didn't you mention it earlier? Something about a handkerchief."

"Ah, oh yeah! well, it's this isn't it...?"

Ayato took the handkerchief from earlier out of his pocket, and presented it toward the girl, "The wind carried it to me earlier and I picked it up. Here, could this be yours?"

The girl opened her eyes wide for an instant, and soon after breathed deeply as she felt relieved.

"Thank God..."

And after she received the handkerchief from Ayato, she gently held it to her chest.

"...Sorry. It's something very... very precious to me."

Rubbing the back of his neck, quite sheepishly.

"No, I just happened to come across it, totally by accident..."

"Even so, you saved me. I'm really grateful." The girl bowed deeply and politely to Ayato, who scratched his head while being embarrassed.

But...

"Now then, do you think that it's all settled?" With her head still lowered, the girl muttered so.

Her voice was different from that of until now, filled with emotions that could explode at any moment.

"Eh...?"

The face of the girl, who slowly raised her head, was wearing a smile.

But her eyes did not laugh at all. The edge of her lips which drew an arc with a smile was convulsively twitching.

"Then - go to hell!"

The next moment, the whole atmosphere of the room changed. The Star-Power, or Prana as it's called, of the girl increased explosively, and the atmosphere rumbled. A chemical element was converted by the Mana, which given direction, awakened the phenomenon.

' _This presence, don't tell me she is...!_ '

"Come into bloom - Amaryllis Six-Petal Burst Firebloom!"

At that moment, a huge fireball appeared before the girl, and was aimed at Ayato.

"A Strega!?"

Suddenly jumping from the window, he adjusted his posture in the air and landed. A roaring sound echoed almost at the same time. Looking up, a huge firebloom (flame flower) opened its bud in the air. It was a large flower of exploding flame, with overlapping blazing petals.

The air vibrated as the gust of heat rushed past. It showed just how the explosion possessed a tremendous power.

"...No, no, no."

As Ayato was taken aback... Inside the window, where some sparks still poured down, the girl appeared and let her body lightly leap from the opened window. Like Ayato, she gracefully dropped to the ground without any problem from the height of the fourth floor. The girl was a Genestella, or Starpulse Generation. Who possessed a phenomenal physical ability due to her adaptability with Mana - and besides, judging from the ability she used earlier, there was no doubt she would be a Strega, or Witch - whose very existence was especially unique even among their species.

Including Seidoukan Academy, almost all of the Students of the six Academies present in Asterisk City were Genestella, or Starpulse Generation. Even Ayato, who was almost completely uninterested in the Festa; Star War Festival, knew at least this. And though by adapting the 'Mana', with the abilities of Strega, or Witch and Magician would be Dante, one could even bend the physical laws of this world, he also knew just how rare of an existence they were.

According to a theory, even among the Genestella, or Starpulse Generation , those who revealed talent as Strega or Dante were only a few percent. In the first place, even though there was an increasing tendency, the Genestella themselves were still a rare species. Saying that this girl is a rarity amongst rarities...

This designation could be easily inferred.

Ayato himself had so far actually come in contact with only one Strega, or Witch before.

"Oho... to be able to dodge that, you are pretty good." The girl's anger spread in her voice, even though she offered some admiration.

"Fine then, if that's the case, I will take you a little more seriously."

Sensing the girl's Prana once again rising... Ayato hastily raised both his hands, in an attempt to control the already tense situation before it got any worse than it currently was at the moment.

"Woah, woah, just wait a minute!"

"What? If you would have just stayed still, I could have just cooked you to well done and let you off."

"Are you really overflowing with desire to roast me alive?"

Without even feeling the slightest hesitation to ask such a question to her.

"Or rather, I want to know why you're going for my life..."

"Since you peeped on a maiden changing clothes, it would be only natural to compensate with your life."

The girl calmly declared such a dangerous thing.

"If that's the case, then what was the thanks you gave me earlier...?"

"I'm of course thankful to you for returning the handkerchief. But... this and that are different issues."

"...Couldn't you be a little flexible about this?"

"Unfortunately... I hate the word 'flexible'." While smiling, she drastically discarded this option.

There seemed no way to get along.

"In the first place... There was no need to return it by coming through the window, right? Besides, it's not unreasonable to beat up a pervert who sneaks into the girl's dormitory."

"...Eh? Girl's dormitory?"

Ayato, with a stunned look, slowly compared the girl and building. Sweat quickly appeared and flowed from Ayato's temple.

"Don't tell me... you didn't know?"

"Not knowing or whatever, I'm a stranger who planned to transfer into this Academy today, and besides, I just recently arrived here. I swear it's not a lie."

As Ayato said so, he showed his brand-new uniform, his comprised of a black pants with a white jacket with a black hoodie underneath. Since he had not yet gotten used to wearing the brand-new uniform, both the jacket and the pants were still firm and crispy. The girl stared at Ayato with doubtful eyes for a while, but she soon emitted a deep sigh.

"OK. I'll believe you."

However, at those words, the moment Ayato was about to heave a sigh of relief...

The girl again, said with a smile. "But, after all, this and that are different issues."

Around the smiling girl, fireballs yet again appeared. Though smaller in size compared to that of earlier, this time there were nine in total. Around the smiling girl, fireballs yet again appeared.

"Come into bloom - Dancing Nine-Tower-Flower!"

"Uwah!"

Nine fireballs in the form of a lovely primrose, each with a different orbit, attacked Ayato. As Ayato twisted his body and dodged them, the fireballs that had already hit the ground burst and disappeared along with the dull sound of an explosion.

The concrete pavement, set in the style of cobblestones, now had holes completely gouged out of it. Though it might be preferable to the earlier explosion, this power was also enough to let a chill run down one's spine.

Regarding the body tissues of the Genestella, or Starpulse Generation, the muscles were made stronger than those of ordinary humans; Furthermore, if the PranaStar-Power was concentrated the physical body could raise a defensive force, enough to at least protect against a bullet. Still, if it hit directly, one could not get away unscathed.

Besides, and in addition to all that... The remaining fireballs were still incessantly attacking Ayato from all directions.

"Wa-wa-wah...!"

However, Ayato outdid each of the attacks by a hairsbreadth. Sometimes by leaping vertically, and sometimes by bending his body, he dodged them at the limit. At those movements, the girl was surprised once again and opened her eyes wide.

"I see, you don't seem to be just a pervert."

Ayato, who took in color at the clear praise for that voice, wiped the sweat from his forehead relieved. She seemed once again to revise her opinion of him. Perhaps, this might be somehow manageable after all.

"You're an extraordinary pervert."

Or not.

"It seems that a mutual understanding will be difficult..." Ayato, unintentionally, raised the complaint.

"Hmph, it's a joke."

Then the girl, while glaring at Ayato with half-opened eyes, flicked back her hair.

"It seems to be a fact that you were returning the handkerchief to me with good intentions, my, um... S- Seeing me changing, too, w-well, I can believe it wasn't on purpose, in a sense. B-But, only in a sense!"

"...Really?"

He tried asking prudently, because he so far has repeatedly rejoiced prematurely. The girl, while nodding, reluctantly continued speaking.

"However, not confirming what building it was, was your mistake, the attitude of suddenly coming in from the window, you understand that not everything can be forgiven just because you didn't do it on purpose, right?"

"That's... quite right."

There were no words of rebuttal.

"You have made your point, but it doesn't settle my anger. And so, we will follow the rules of this city. Fortunately, since you seem to be talented in your own way, you won't complain... Right?"

The girl said this, and stared straight at Ayato's face.

"What is your name?"

"Amagiri Ayato."

"I see. I'm Julis. Ranked fifth in Seidoukan Academy, Julis-Alexia van Riessfeld."

The girl, who named herself Julis, raised her right hand to the Seidoukan Academy's school badge, a stylized 'red lotus', adorning her chest.

"In the name of the red lotus serving as proof of the inflexible, I, Julis-Alexia van Riessfeld hereby challenged you, Ayato Amagiri, to a duel!"

"Duel? Are fucking kidding me?"

To Ayato's surprise the school badge on his chest started emitting a red light in response. When petitioning for a duel, the decision whether to accept or reject it must be requested.

"If you win, I'll quietly withdraw my complaint. But if I win, you'll do whatever I want you to do."

Saying so as if it was natural, Julis grinned and laughed.

"W-Wait a minute. I can't just..."

"Since you have transferred here, no matter what, you do know at least of the duel, right?"

He was peremptorily asked. "...Well, I did hear something about it but..."

Thinking it through completely, one might say that all the students who lived in this Asterisk were gathered here in order to fight. The world's largest battle entertainment Festa. Here was the stage, since the students of each Academy were all player candidates.

"Then, hurry up and accept it. There is even a crowd forming."

Ayato looked around after being told this, and realized that the two of them had certainly become the center of attention. They probably heard the commotion and came. Though most were likely female students from the girl's dormitory, there were also the figures of male students here and there watching from the distant circle formed by the crowd.

Of all the things that Ayato needed was attention, and the last few years proved that even more to him.

"Hey, hey, what, what?"

"The Petalblaze Witch seems to want a duel!"

"Seriously!? Isn't she a Page One and one of the Top Twelve? They can't overlook that!"

"So, who is the opponent and where does he come from?"

"I don't know. I haven't seen his face before... How about the net?"

"I'm looking now... But, he doesn't appear in the Named Chart Battle Omnicon."

"Is he not on the list? Well it's a courageous challenger again."

"How long will he last? That 'Princess' doesn't have it in her nature to go easy on her opponents."

"Three minutes."

"One minute."

"Wait wait, the odds of the net will come out very soon... Well, within three minutes, it's the double."

"There is a bookmaker who is already opened. You guys are being quick-eared as always."

"The journalism club is already providing live commentary. Hey, here or there?"

While listening to the voices of such outfield, Ayato frowned, and was troubled. He disliked being the center of attention as he was used to being in shadows, doing what was needed and avoided attention like it was a plague itself.

"Why is this getting such attention...?"

"There are two reasons. The first one is the collection of data on key students in this case, my data. I may look like this, but I am one of the Page One and Top Twelve of this Academy, if there is even a chance, there are a lot of people who aim to defeat others."

"Page One?...and...Top Twelve?"

"Must I explain it from the beginning?"

Julis stared at Ayato with dubious eyes. Seeing that the boy wasn't entirely informed on the school's ranking system, something that many would know about even before being accepted into this school.

"Fine then, you know that each academy of Asterisk has a ranking system, right? Although the rules differ from one academy to another, each academy has a ranking list that clarifies who sits at the top of each academy; they become the Named Cards Battle Omnicon. There is a limit of 72 names in each academy's book. The top twelve among them who have their names appear on the first page of the list are commonly known as Page One Top Twelve."

' _I see._ '

"And the second reason is simple and clear, all the guys here are just fools who are dying to watch a match here."

' _...Are you seriously kidding me?_ '

"Well, if you don't want to fight no matter what, then it can't be helped. You also have the right to refuse the duel. But, in that case, I'm going to hand it over to the vigilance committee of the girl's dormitory."

Before he knew it, the escape route had completely disappeared.

"Ah, but you know, I don't carry a weapon."

Even so, he tried to struggle until the bitter end. It seemed that some students enrolled with their own weapon-armaments, but most people were basically using customized supplies from the Academy. Due to Ayato's recent years, he was used to carrying around a weapon to defend himself.

But when he was asked to join this school by the council, he was also asked to leave his weapons behind...for the time being, as they told him.

' _They better get it to me soon if they want to make sure it happens..._ '

Ayato's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the girl in front of him start talking.

"You're not a Dante, right? What weapon do you use?"

"...A sword."

"Could someone lend him a weapon? A sword is fine."

After Julis asked the spectators, a reaction came back immediately.

"All right, he can use this."

With those words, something was thrown towards Ayato from the crowd. What he received was a short rod-shaped apparatus. Fitting perfectly in one hand, there was an emerald green crystal at the tip - a 'Mana Dite' was inserted.

It was an activation tool for the Lux Shining Type Armament.

"If you don't know how to use it, I'm not going to tell you."

Julis saying so fearlessly smiled.

"Don't worry about me...I know my way around combat..."

As Ayato deeply sighed, he activated the Lux Shining Type Armament in his hand. The element pattern stored by the Mana Dite was reconstructed, and a mechanical "guard" instantly appeared at an acute angle from nowhere. Furthermore, when shifting from standby mode to the activation state, a dazzling light blade of concentrated Mana grew in the empty space. The length of the blade was about one and a half meter. Since appropriate adjustments had hardly been carried out, it was a normal Lux Shining Type Armament.

Seeing that, Julis also took out her activation tool from the holder at the waist of her uniform, and activated her Lux Shining Type Armament.

In fact, unlike Ayato's, it was a rapier of a thin flexible light.

"Well, are you ready?"

While elegantly posing her fine sword, Julis' eyes fixed upon Ayato. In reality, the Lux Shining Type Armament was too light for Ayato's preference, but as they had come this far... he had no choice.

"...I, Amagiri Ayato accept the duel request of Julis."

Ayato held up his hand to the chest school badge, and muttered so with a sigh. As proof of acceptance, Ayato's school badge once again shone red.

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 1: A New Journey**

 **21st Century**

 _At the beginning of the 21st century, few individuals could imagine the conflagration sparked by a myriad of local flashpoints spanning every corner of the globe._

 _Europe was overwhelmed by refugees, tens of millions fleeing from conflicts fueled by anger, greed and years of financial crisis and stagnation which started in the least stable regions of the world like the Middle East and inexorably spread._

 _Greece's final complete economic collapse triggered a chain reaction that threw Europe into chaos. Bulgaria took the worst of it – as the Bulgarian Greek-owned banks collapsed alongside with Greece._

 _The entire region was swept into a maelstrom of havoc, ruining countless lives and destroying any semblance of a status quo, but providing opportunities for those unscrupulous enough to exploit the situation. The remnants of the European Union were paralyzed by the growing gap between the governments and their people, and violent anti-government protests became commonplace, giving birth to numerous anarchist movements throughout all of Europe._

 _Weapon caches from the crumbling governments of the third-world became the armories of the insurgencies._

 _In the Middle East, the Syrian crisis spilled into the entire region, shattering Syria into multiple warring regions with Kurdish militias attempting to carve their own territories out of the chaos, frequently clashing with Turkish forces in a conflict that rapidly became a full-blown civil war within a few weeks time._

 _As Europe reeled from these devastating blows, the newly elected American president by the name of Kenneth Phoenix decided to turn towards isolationism by bringing home most of the troops serving abroad in other nations, fearing 'another Iraq' would happen if the American soldiers were further involved in the conflicts that riddled the Middle East._

 _This was supported by new technologies that allowed the USA to be energy independent from the rest of the world. The new American strategy of providing military support to U.S. friendly countries relied heavily on the use of American-backed PMC's, as demonstrated by the 2018 War of the Precipice between Israel and its neighbors. This strategy had major repercussions, leading to the loss of direct influence in many parts of the world, especially South America._

 _This in turn led to the rise of the Alianza de Sangre, a multi-national criminal drug cartel that gradually gained direct control over a large part of Mexico and Central America. The cartel funded guerrillas all across South America, starting multiple civil wars and profiting immensely from the turmoil amongst nations._

 _South American governments were powerless to stop this well-funded criminal organization without assistance, and lawlessness south of the American border gave rise to many American nationalist militias that gradually gained influence across the South._

 _While in Asia, things weren't any better as problems arose across the massive continent..._

 _Asia's largest superpower, China, entered the late 2010's with a series of economic spasms caused by currency fluctuations, oil shortages and increased separatist tendencies in several of its regions. China put policies in place that bordered on martial law, with extensive crackdowns and brutal methods of control, and managed to keep the situation in hand, but just barely._

 _In Europe, NATO, now in decline, was put to test for the first time in years as nationalist guerrillas appeared in Estonia. The entire Baltic region was soon plummeted into conflict and the chronically underfunded NATO was petitioned to respond with any kind of force._

 _Due to the lack of resources, lack of American backing and fear of starting another global war without any real military support from one of the superpowers, armed response was vetoed and NATO for all intents and purposes ceased to exist as an effective structure by the early months of 2020._

 _The global tensions also spurred violence on the Indian-Pakistani border._

 _Amidst the chaos, five nuclear warheads were stolen from the Pakistani complex at Khushab and one of them was detonated in the Indian city of Hyderabad, leading to the death of millions and to staggering economic losses._

 _The world held its breath, waiting for someone to step forward and announce they were responsible for the attack._

 _This announcement never happened, and the unexplained, senseless violence of this heinous crime served as the final wake-up call for the nations to act._

 _Weakened by insurgency and internal strife, the world's powers of China, the European Union, Russia and the United States, came together to discuss how to fight the new multi-national threats. After the extensive negotiations, a treaty was signed that would change the world forever._

 _The treaty stipulated that the internal affairs of all the countries participating in the talks would be left to their own militaries, but major threats to entire regions or continents would be handled by a newly formed independent international body: the International Security Department._

 _The ISD would use Private Military Companies, freely formed according to the principle of exterritoriality. The ISD would dictate the operations of the PMCs but in return would support them both logistically and politically in order to operate in that area or nation._

 _Each PMC would be established with its own rules (ranging from ragtag bands of mercenaries to private armies equipped with modern weaponry) but they all would have to adhere to the ISD code, lest they become branded as renegades and prosecuted (de facto by other PMCs)._

 _The size of the PMC s could vary from small bands of mercenaries to entire brigades or divisions and their equipment was just as varied from antiquated vehicles mothballed even by third world militaries to cutting edge machines, purchased from those arms dealers approved by the ISD. For these dealers the contract with the ISD was very beneficial: for their promise not to supply anyone considered to be the enemy of the ISD, the authorities tended to look the other way when it came to the means the dealers employed when 'acquiring' their stock._

 _The most successful of these dealers signed exclusive contracts with the largest private forces, making them some of the richest men and women on Earth._

 _Unfortunately this system brought its own pitfalls with it._

 _Cases of mercenary units going rogue or switching sides were not uncommon, and for years it took the combined might of the ISD and the loyalists to crush such rebels completely and to make examples of them. Nevertheless, the system has proven effective and by early 2020s the PMC s were already the dominant and, in reality, only force capable of dealing with major crises in contested regions._

 _As humans approach the middle of the 21st century it is no longer in question, the world is on fire. The combined strength of the loyal PMCs is now the only hope for keeping the earth from returning to another dark age like centuries ago. Whether they will be successful remains to be seen..._

 _However, the rest of the world continued to move forward from the problems of others. People who simply didn't care about the situation of their world, and those that didn't realize about the world outside of them, had made advances in technology like none before it and with an event occurring that would forever change the world as well._

 _With a new city that would change how humanity viewed itself..._

 _The Artificial Water City - Rikka, which floated on a huge crater-lake located in North Kanto, was the stage known as Asterisk held once a year; the students from each of the six Academies wielded weapons in an extreme competition for supremacy._

 _The Festa, or the Star War Festival was a type of battle entertainment, boasting the world's largest fan population._

 _Of course this did not mean that it was a fight to the death._

 _In accordance with these rules, it was stipulated in the agreement called Stella Star Wars Charter, but long story short, it said that 'the person who destroys the school badge of their opponent wins'. Although intentional cruelty was prohibited, if there was the purpose of weakening an opponent's combat efficiency, attacks to any place other than the school badge was permitted, and since weapons were used, there would naturally be injured people._

 _There were occasionally also cases when it didn't end with just injuries._

 _Nonetheless, that young people still came from all over the world to this city was due to the fact that it was only here that they could hope to fulfill their wish._

 _And, the opportunity for them to fight was not only in the Festa._

 _If hot-blooded young men and women confident in their ability gathered in the same place, quite a few troubles would be expected to occur. In such cases, private wars (personal struggles) in conformity with rules were permitted in Asterisk._

 _That was the duel._

 _Though victory or defeat was decided by destroying the school badge as in the Festa, the reinforced school badge also contained the data processing functions, performed the duel application negotiation, the combat data transfer, and so on with the host computer._

 _Especially in a duel between students belonging to the same Academy, given that the rank would change depending on the result (victory or defeat), there was a meaning beyond just a private battle._

 **~o0o~**

 **Present Day**

Julis herself fought successfully through many duels and had obtained the position of fifth ranked.

But for Julis, the young boy in front of her - she could not determine the ability of Amagiri Ayato at all. It was like, he was hiding his abilities for no one to find out.

"Come into bloom - Longiflorum White Firebloom of the Sharp Spear!"

When Julis swung the fine sword like a baton, spears of huge pale flames manifested along the arc. The flames which carried the shape of the trumpet lily were flying, just like that, to pierce through Ayato with the momentum of a rocket.

"Argh!"

Though Ayato somehow parried it with the sword as a shield, the shock didn't seem to have affected him, if not at all. Julis hid her shock as she saw the violet eyes of his weren't filled with the innocence of someone inexperienced towards combat, but that of someone who's killed others...

More than anyone, and that did strike some fear into her...

' _Who is this boy? But why..._ '

Although he barely took a defensive position, his breathing didn't seem to change in any way.

"Oho, that newcomer isn't bad at all."

"He endures the flames of that Princess well. Well, his skill is so so."

"Hmm, I think that he's fairly skilled."

"He's not so bad. But he's not so good, either."

"Isn't the Princess going easy on him?"

Julis slightly frowned at the voices of such a gallery. She was not going easy on him at all. But that didn't also mean she was fighting at full strength; she was seriously fighting her opponent. In fact, from the outside, no matter how one looked at it, Julis was the predominant fighter.

On the other hand, Ayato, who was on the defense since the beginning, couldn't even get decently close to her.

Since it was Julis's basic tactic to suppress her opponent with overwhelming firepower, while keeping her distance, one could only say it was all according to the plan. This fine sword, Aspera Spina, was at its bitter end for defensive counters when it came to close range combat.

However, Julis felt a strong sense of incongruity. She did not know what it was. She just knew that something did not feel right.

It might be a fact that she had the upper hand, but his response was somehow dull. And Ayato, even if barely, fully dodged all of Julis' attacks. For an instant, she thought that Ayato might be going easy on her, but seeing his figure, which showed that he was clearly in shape from the even breathing.

She was feeling a sense of incongruity, and yet at the same time her interest was perked, even if only a little. Surveying his figure again, there wasn't an ounce of innocence on his face and she could she that there were some scars, even she could see his skin was subjected to the sun...quite often.

Though he had a somewhat muscular physique, looking at his agility, she understood that he was well trained. Even though they were fighting, his violet eyes were calm, and Ayato wore an atmosphere, not that of a student, but that of someone who's seen death, destruction, and committed terrible atrocities himself.

One might say that he was an experienced fighter and a monster of the highest caliber.

"Errr, Julis...? Will you soon forgive me?"

While finally catching his breath and lowering his eyebrows, Ayato raised both his hands.

"Since you're fine. So, may I take that as a declaration of surrendering intentionally?"

"Well, that is... No, to begin with, I had no intention of fighting."

"Well, I don't mind, but in that case, do you want to be slowly and carefully roasted as a pervert by me, or do you after all want to hand it to the vigilance committee of the girl's dormitory? By the way, the underwear thief who was caught by the vigilance committee the other day was hardly able to speak about the result of the 'Punishment', and after leaving the room also seemed to suffer from a mental condition."

"...I think I will do my best a bit longer."

Ayato set up the sword again while having a stiff smile.

It's fine like this. At this rate, even Julis won't be satisfied with this.

' _I must ascertain the real nature of that sense of incongruity at all costs._ '

Making up her mind, Julis concentrated her Prana.

The Prana was the root of the power of the Genestella. It was something like an invisible aura, but one could raise his offensive or defensive abilities by concentrating it. And for the Strega or Dante like Julis, it was also an energy necessary for the activation of their ability.

In fact, due to the nature of their ability, Strega or Dante must use their Prana in their ability, the ratio of the Prana to invest in defense by all means would lower, and in hand-to-hand combat, that also tended to become a weak point and thus disadvantageous.

But, such a thing, unless one got closer, was a resolved problem.

"Come into bloom - Amaryllis Six-Petal Burst Firebloom!"

' _I won't miss this time!_ '

As a huge fire ball appeared before Julis, the gallery stirred. It was the same technique she used to kick out Ayato from her room, but it was twice as big this time.

"That's not good! It's her best move!"

"Wai-, it s not a joke!"

"Retreat, retreat!"

Even if one was caught and injured, it would be of course at their own risk. The gallery hastily retreated further. Julis, without looking at such curious onlookers, instantly calculated the most optimal trajectory and released the fire ball. Though Ayato bent his waist and stood ready, just before he dodged, Julis tightly clenched her fist.

"Explode!"

Upon command, the fireball exploded in front of Ayato's eyes.

Even if it was difficult to make it hit directly, it would be impossible to completely dodge it if the explosion occurred at this distance. If caught in this explosion at point-blank range, Genestella or not, he would not be able to move for a while.

The visibility was lost due to the raging flames. While protecting her face from the thunderous blast, Julis was convinced of her victory.

However.

"Amagiri Dragon Arts First Sword Fighting Skill - Twin Water Dragons!"

As what one would think looked like a sword slash flashed, the flame petals were torn up crosswise.

"Wha-... don't tell me, the Meteor Arts Falling Stars Arts?"

The Meteor Arts Falling Stars Arts was a skill which temporarily raised the output of the Lux Shining Type Armament by pouring the Prana Star-Power into the Mana Dite. It was officially known as 'over-excitation total response phenomenon', but it was not something that could be learned in a day.

A suitable training, and above all thorough adjustments of the Lux Shining Type Armament were required. If it was pulled off with just a borrowed Lux Shining Type Armament - The next moment when Julis felt something close to a shiver, a black shadow which appeared from the break of the flame closed the distance in one breath.

Once she recognized that the shadow was Ayato, he had already jumped into her bosom. It was an incredible speed. It was in another league compared to his movements up to now.

For an instant, Ayato had a feeling that something like spark of light was scattered around him, but he could not be concerned with that.

"Y-You!"

Julis who reflexively tried to attack, was struck by Ayato's sharp voice.

"Get down!"

Before Julis understood what was going on, she was pushed down. Ayato's face was within a hair's breadth and her heart leapt. The light that dwelt in those eyes was earnest, as if it was a different person.

"Y-You, what are you...!"

Still, raising her voice in protest - she unintentionally opened her eyes wide.

There was a shining arrow stuck in the ground where Julis had been standing until now. It was not a physical item. It was something created by a Lux Shining Type Armament.

The Lux Shining Type Armament temporarily concentrated Mana, and generated a blade or a bullet. The maintained weapon did not have any problem keeping it's shape within the activation tool, like a sword; however a ranged weapon could not maintain it's form for long once fired. It became particles of light and faded away before her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

It was obviously an attack aimed at Julis.

It was probably a planned surprise attack under the cover of the explosion. In fact, whatever had been shooting from wherever, it must not have been noticed by anyone at the time. Though extremely reluctant admit this, if Ayato hadn't saved her, it would have completely succeeded.

"What am I doing?...I don't want to hear that from the person who was shooting fire and flames at me."

Ayato answered, just as troubled.

"Not that! What exactly with my..."

As she spoke up to that point, realization struck. Someone s hand had grabbed Julis' developing bulges with all his might. In fact, it was not just anyone. Since at this point it could not just be anyone, but Ayato who bent over as he tightly hugged Julis, he would inevitably be the owner of that hand. As soon as she realized it, Julis's face dimly dyed red.

"...Ah."

Ayato who then also realized, hurriedly jumped back and lowered his head.

"So-Sorry! No, errr, I didn't have such an intention at all."

It was a deja vu.

"Oh! What that bastard, he pushed down the princess!"

"Hugh! He has guts!"

"It s a passionate approach."

The gallery who came back without anyone noticing got excited at its own convenience. That again inflamed Julis' anger.

"Y-Y-Y-You...!"

In response to Julis' anger, flame flowed around her. She could not control her Prana Star-Power because of excessive anger. Ayato without being able to voice his defense, was only able to frantically shake his head.

And.

"Yes, yes, we will leave it at that."

Together with a calm, profound voice, a dry slap rang out.

* * *

 **I'm bored, that's all I have to say about this!**

 **So I decided to create a new story around Gakusen Toshi Asterick, an anime that I had watched. It was interesting to say the least...**

 **Now that we got that out of the way...what about his canon powers...well that is a concept I have been working around and I actually like the mystery behind it since I have some ideas for it.**

 **But I must say this, for what he is in this story...he will be quite frightening to say the least**

 **That'll be it for now guys in terms of info.**


	2. Chapter 2

" _War does not determine who is right - only who is left._ " - Bertrand Russell

* * *

 **A few minutes later**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"Although we at Seidoukan Academy respect the right of students to engage in duels, unfortunately, in this instance, things must end here."

Speaking as she came forth from within the crowd of onlookers was a young woman with dazzling blond hair. She possessed a calm and collected bearing, and a beauty which, while different in style, was no less stunning than Julis.

If one were to make a comparison, Julis would be likened unto a rose, blooming in gracious artistry. This young lady's appearance, in contrast, spoke of the serene tranquility of the water's depths. These were the differences that these two girls had from one another.

"...Claudia. By what authority do you stand in my way?"

"Why, under my authority as student council president of Seidoukan Academy, of course."

The young lady, apparently named Claudia, revealed a light smile, and raised her hand to reveal the school badge she held within.

"By the authority bestowed upon me as the chief representative of the Red Lotus, I hereby annul this duel between Julis Alexia van Riessfeld and Amagiri Ayato."

Julis and Ayato's school badges, which had been glowing with a red light, now ceased to do so.

"Well, no harm, no foul, right, Amagiri Ayato?"

"Mm..."

It seemed the storm had safely passed.

Ayato wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed heavily.

"My thanks, um...council president? For getting me out that little situation..."

"That's right. I'm the student council president of Seidoukan Academy, Claudia Enfield. It's a pleasure."

Reaching out to take the hand extended to him, Ayato returned her handshake.

Seeing Claudia from this closer distance, she truly was a captivating presence. As for what about her was so captivating, well...simply put, it was that overly abundant bosom of hers, which strained at her uniform.

That said, this was hardly the time to be making comparisons to Julis. Even if Ayato didn't spend much time with girls his own age, he wasn't immune to women by any means since he's a teenage boy...just not normal, even by today's standards.

Or, so he thought.

Indeed, Julis wore a distinctly dissatisfied expression, clearly unhappy with Claudia's ruling.

"Even if you are the student council president, barring some greater reason, you still don't have the right to interfere in a duel."

"Of course I have a reason. He's a transfer student, right? Even if he's already registered his information and had his emblem authenticated, there's still one last procedure he hasn't yet finished. More strictly speaking, Amagiri Ayato is not yet an official student of Seidoukan Academy,"

Claudia explained, smiling broadly.

"Only those who are students may engage in a duel. Accordingly, this duel is invalid. Any complaints?"

"Gu...!"

Julis bit her lips in frustration.

Given her reaction, with no verbal response forthcoming, it was evident she agreed the argument held merit.

"Good. Now that we're all clear on the matter, I'd like to invite everyone to please depart. If you linger here for too long, you'll be late for class."

At these words, the crowd broke off into small groups, and wandered off. A handful of students were clearly dissatisfied with the abrupt conclusion to the duel, though they could find no point on which to refute Claudia's decision.

' _Guessing they're a little scared themselves from saying something...although knowing my own rotten luck...trouble will eventually find me..._ '

"Ah!"

Suddenly, Ayato remembered the sniping arrow from the duel just now.

It was probable that the student who had sniped Julis was even now fleeing the scene of the crime, hidden amongst the crowd. Even though he was hardly familiar with the rules and customs of his new school, this sort of despicable act still wasn't something he could simply ignore.

Allowing the culprit to simply disappear would be anything but wise.

"Um, please wait..."

Ayato was ready to shout when he was interrupted by a pat on the shoulder from Julis.

"Pretend you didn't see anything. This time, whoever it was got off easy."

Julis slowly shook her head, a wry smile on her lips.

"Moreover, as a Page One, suffering an ambush like that is hardly unexpected."

"Ugh. It's truly unfortunate, but this kind of thing isn't all that rare. That said, this time, they've really gone too far. A third party taking advantage of a duel to sneak in an attack is something unforgivable. I'll ask the disciplinary committee to look into it. Once we catch the culprit, they'll be dealt with harshly."

At these words from Claudia, Ayato wasn't taken by surprise. He knew himself that people have mask to keep others from finding out another side to them, an idea that Ayato himself was very familiar with over the past few years.

Coming from a world, one where innocence is weeded out very early on. With Ayato learning this lesson the hard way with his job, one that not many would ever consider.

That meant, after all, that Claudia had clearly seen the sneak attack just now.

Even given the number of onlookers who had watched the duel, evidently not a single one had noticed the attack.

Perhaps the only one who hadn't had their gaze captured by Julis' fiery explosions was this young maiden.

"Er, on that note...Regarding just now, um...thank you."

Julis turned to Ayato with an apologetic look.

She seemed to be referring to the sniping during their duel.

"Oh, well, putting that aside for the moment...You're not mad?"

Even though unforeseen circumstances had forced his hand, the fact remained that he'd pushed Julis down; that, he couldn't deny.

Remembering the soft sensation in his hand, Ayato inquired with fear, causing Julis to blush and avert her gaze.

"Well, I can't say I'm not the least bit upset, but...you definitely saved me."

It seemed that Julis was quite an earnest person.

Although her expression revealed that it wasn't quite so easy to let things go, she bowed her head.

"I'm very aware that what happened was unavoidable."

Things were progressing rather differently than when he'd returned her handkerchief.

Truth be told, Ayato was at his limit simply holding back her fireball; there simply was no time to think up an alternative method. Even if Prana was capable of raising one's defensive abilities, it wasn't to the point of being able to shrug off a sneak attack like the one she'd undergone.

"That's why, just this once, I owe you one."

"Owe...?"

"That's right. Doesn't that make things much simpler?"

That certainly was easy to understand, but it was also a decidedly dispassionate way of dealing with things.

"I see you still haven't changed. Honestly."

Claudia's tone of voice revealed a certain distaste.

"If you ask me, you really should try to be a bit more straightforward."

"Don't worry about it. I'm pretty straight as it is, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future."

"Hmm...I seem to remember a certain someone struggling to find a partner, no?"

"Ugh...that's, um..."

Julis gaze fell as she mumbled.

Her reaction was an answer in itself.

"The Phoenix Star Warrior Festival registration deadline is in a few weeks from today. That doesn't leave a whole lot of time to find a partner and sign up for this years upcoming festa."

"I-I know! I just need to find someone before then, and it'll be fine!"

Julis promptly flipped an about-face, and stormed off.

"Honestly."

Claudia's gaze followed Julis into the distance, looking all the part of a mother watching a rebellious child.

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 2: School Life**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"So, the significance behind why this century has been nicknamed 'The Calamitous Century'."

As both Ayato and Claudia were walking through the hallways. She continued on with her explanation.

"This is due in part to the physical effects of the Ember Tearsmeteor shower, which visited unprecedented destruction upon this world. For three days and three nights, meteorites rained down from the sky, changing the world in drastic ways. The nations which had previously held power fell, giving rise to the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, and a change in societal notions of ethics. The meteorites further resulted in the inception of a new kind of human, able to exert influence over Mana - that is to say, the Starpulse Generation."

"This led to the creation of new scientific institutions devoted to the study of Mana, which, by leveraging the techniques of meteoric engineering, has grown by leaps and bounds. Regardless of whether these changes are beneficial or not, nevertheless, within the history of man, the Ember Tears stands as a monument of great change."

Passing by the classroom, an older teacher could be heard giving instruction.

"Furthermore, according to current schools of thought, the notion that the Ember Tears did not consist of ordinary meteorites is now a predominant theory. All observatories surveying the phenomenon have noted the release of a particular aerosol being produced as the meteorites made contact with the Earth's atmosphere. As for what this portends..."

The droning monotone made for an effective tranquilizer, needing only to enter one's ear before quickly sending one off to count sheep. Indeed, a quick glance within the classroom revealed the majority of students lying asleep on their desks.

"It's pretty early to be in class. Class shouldn't have started yet, right?"

"That's right. These students are taking extra lessons."

"This early and already in extra lessons..."

How unfortunate.

"After all, our school focuses on both civil and martial paths. You'd best remember this."

Leading Ayato along the path to the student council room, Claudia turned with a smile.

Unlike the classical architecture of the girl's dormitory, Seidoukan Academy's design is much more modern.

The university, high school, and junior high buildings enclose a communal courtyard. Of these three, the high school enrollment was the largest, and subsequently, so was its building. After that would be the university and it's student population. With the junior high being the smallest of three student populations.

"Oh, that reminds me. Ayato, you and I are the same age, so feel free to relax a little."

"Huh? Wait, that means...you, student council president, is just a first-year like me?"

Her calm and cool temperament completely belied her age.

"That's odd...The student council president...?"

It's currently April. If she was indeed a first-year like Ayato, then she should have entered school but two months prior.

Although admittedly he hadn't the slightest clue what the process for selecting the student council president entailed, but to have risen to such an elevated position in such a short time was nonetheless staggering.

"You're right. My term as president began during junior high; this is already my third term," Claudia calmly explained as they made their way through the hallway, brilliantly illuminated by the rays of sunlight pouring through the glass panes.

It wasn't the case that the different school levels held no autonomy, but rather that the student council of Seidoukan Academy was a single body drawn from all three levels. Resultantly, among the members of the student council could also be found those who were at the junior high level and those who were at the university level.

"Unbelievable..."

"That's why, please just address me by my name."

"So that's how it is, Ms. Enfield..."

"Claudia. Anything else is unnecessary."

"Er, that's a little bit..."

Given the circumstances, it wasn't like he could do much else, but for Ayato to directly use the first name of a girl he had just met was still something he was rather hesitant to do. Until she gave him a look that said, 'It isn't for up choice.'

"Claudia."

"That's what I mean...that's..."

"Clau~di~a~"

"...Alright, I understand already. Claudia."

Contrasting her appearance, she appeared to be quite stubborn indeed. Although that helped to show she was someone Ayato's age, and yet again...so far from him as he's seen things that no people his age should ever see...

His mind wondered for a second as he looked out the window, seeing the city called Asterisk. Soon remembering why he was sent here in the first place, and knowing that this job wasn't going to be easy for the long run.

' _I still need to be careful around here...with what's going in recent weeks with them and the influx of their members in Japan are...a concern, to say the least._ '

Having lost out to her mulishness, Ayato had no choice but to give in and address his student council president with her given name. Claudia narrowed her eyes in delight.

"Well then, please call me Ayato... even if it's a little embarrassing, to be sure."

"Got it, Ayato."

"Is it really fine not to use any honorifics?"

"That's assuredly not the case. Just chalk it up to my personality."

"Personality?"

"Indeed. I harbor quite a sly personality, so I make sure to leave a good first impression on others. Afterwards, I influence them little by little."

From the very beginning, Claudia looked nothing so much like a warm, caring mother, so digesting what'd just said necessarily took Ayato some time.

"...A sly personality?"

"Just so. Deep within my heart, a dark something is boiling over, almost like a black hole, wreaking havoc. It's so black, it's even darker than black honey."

That certainly is dark to some degree it was, for some people, while Ayato didn't see anything behind the words she used to describe herself. But not compared to the humor and words that he's heard himself before.

"That said, would you like to see for yourself?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Having thus spoken, Claudia gripped the bottom of her blouse, and began to roll it up.

"Wow! Claudia! Can you please not do that..."

Catching a glimpse of that exquisite abdomen, Ayato frantically turned away.

Of course, Claudia never intended to reveal anything more.

"Hahaha, I'm just playing. Such a cute reaction."

Claudia laughed delightedly, covering her mouth with her hand. This made it abundantly clear just what she meant by a 'sly personality'.

"Alright, we're here. Please, come in."

It'd taken them some time to reach the student council room, located on the top floor of the high school building. Looking more carefully, it seemed all the rooms on the top floor were related to the student council in some way.

Using her school badge, Claudia authenticated herself at the door, which slid open to reveal a vast and spacious room which felt a bit much for a student council room.

The floor of the entryway was covered in a dark brown leather rug. A depiction of Seidoukan Academy's school grounds was hung on the wall. Placed in front of the large window, with room to spare, was a heavy oaken conference desk with matching chairs. Simply put, it looked for all the world like the boardroom of a large corporation.

Claudia sat down at the head of the table with a practiced ease, placing her hands together, she spoke once more.

"Well then, once more... Welcome to Seidoukan Academy, Ayato."

Having looked at Ayato this entire time, Claudia now broke eye contact to turn to face the window.

"And...welcome to Rikka, the Asterisk City."

Ayato followed her in looking out over the city from their high vantage point, a neat and tidy skyline filling his gaze, one that he would rarely see anymore with what's been happening throughout the world for the past few years.

Floating atop the crater-lake in North Kanto, left by an immense meteorite, lay the artificial-island city, lined with massive buildings across the sky to the occasional helicopters. In the center of its hexagonal layout sat the central district, with one of the six schools reaching out in each direction, giving one the impression of a large snowflake. The name of this city; Rikka or Snowflake, was rooted in this fact.

Each school had its own district, with a large road leading up to the school itself, the architecture of which resulted in a star shape, or more precisely, a asterisk hexagram.

Granted, the origin of this name was something that had to be seen to be understood for those students who journeyed from around the world to be here.

"We, of Seidoukan Academy have but one expectation of you, the special invitee transfer student, and that is victory."

Looking down upon the city, she continued, "Defeat St. Garrardsworth Academy, subdue Allekant Academy, subjugate the GerronWorld Dragon Seventh Institute, overpower Le Wolfe Black Institute, and triumph over Queen Veil Girl's Academy. That is to say, to obtain victory during the Festa Star Warrior Festival."

"...Is this really the reason I was sent here for...help guard a city like this..."

Ayato could only scratch his head and frown. He muttered a some words to the point where not even Claudia herself could hear what the new student said and instead, Ayato decided to answer to Claudia's question

"I'm sorry. I'll be honest; I have no interest in any of that."

The truth of the matter was that each school was supported from behind the scenes by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation. Their power, superior to the now fallen nations of times past, was sufficient even to warp and alter the law. Whether it be wealth, position, or prestige - nothing was beyond reach.

To be certain, of the students gathered to this Asterisk City, a full half were here for the express purpose of realizing such dreams.

The remaining half, namely those students wielding the special powers of the Starpulse Generation, were eager to test themselves, hoping at least once to fight to the very limits of their ability. For these students, there was but one place in this world where they could fight to their hearts' content.

Nonetheless, Ayato fell within neither of these two camps.

"I know. I'm aware you don't feel anything in particular about this sort of thing, which is why you've rejected our invitation once already."

Signaling the end of this phase of their conversation, Claudia turned her chair to face Ayato once more.

"The fact remains, however, that our school's performance in the Festa these past years has been anything but stellar. Last season, we placed fifth in the overall rankings. With that said, the sixth-ranked Queen Veil are so ranked by design only, the official rankings not withstanding. The reality of things is that we are currently last. This is not a situation we can allow to continue; for this purpose, we need every talented individual we can get our hands on."

Although the Festa is described as a single competition, in truth, it is composed of three separate parts.

In the summer of the first year is the partner battle Phoenix Star Warrior Festival, in the fall of the second year is a team battle, Gryphon Star Warrior Festival, and finally in the winter of the third year is the individually fought Lindvolus Dragon King Star Warrior Festival.

Those who perform well are able to have to their scores substituted in place of their traditional school grades; their final point accumulation at the end of the Lindvolus becomes their grade. Thus three years of grades can summed up by this one cycle.

As Claudia has just mentioned, Seidoukan Academy's performance these last few cycles has consistently lingered near the bottom.

"Students have the opportunity to participate in the Festa three times. Unfortunately, looking at it in another light, our best students only have three chances at most to participate. To be frank, our current numbers are inadequate."

Students may register for the Festa when they are between the ages of thirteen to twenty-two, a period of nine years. During this time, they may, of their own free will, choose to participate in any Festa, even if only a part there of.

For example, there are those students who will participate in all three Festa segments in one cycle, departing at the end of the three year cycle, as well as those who, in their nine allotted years, will opt to take part in the Lindvolus only.

The more excellent students, the better. Taking this attitude, each of the six schools spares no effort in seeking out the very best and brightest, leading students from all around the world to gather here.

Free tuition, living stipends, sponsored equipment; each of the six schools had its own methods for attracting students. From the point of view of these schools, these special invitees were to be had no matter what.

"On that note, why was I invited to come here? Although it's a little strange to be saying this myself, but I don't think there's anything particularly noteworthy about me."

"That's certainly the case. Because of your utter lack of a reputation, I faced quite the opposition pushing your name through."

"Ehh? So you're the one who recommended me here..."

The majority of those who were sought out as special invitees were those who had performed well in the Festa. The exceptions to the rule were the Strega and the Dante. However, these individuals were duty-bound to heed the will of their respective nations and were not free to escape the fate of being selected.

When it came to this point, from the time when he was young, Ayato had been raised as a practitioner in a kenjutsu dojo, and had never before participated in the Festa. Within the last few years, his view on the world had also changed with his recent 'line of work' made these events look like a waste of time to him.

Something that only helps to show that humanity as a whole doesn't understand that there is a much bigger problem at hand than this sport. As terrorist organizations unlike anything ever seen before have been launching attacks on European cities, and with conflicts arising in the Middle East as old rivalries flare up. With the major superpowers of the world currently trying to keep this issue at hand as quiet as possible.

Ayato knew that the rest of the world would turn a blind eye to what was going on and keep their focus on things that may terrify them if they do. That was human nature itself, and a man that Ayato had once met told him something he'd never forget.

' _The healthy human mind doesn't wake up in the morning thinking this is its last day on Earth. But to most people, they think that's a luxury, not a curse. To know you're close to the end is a kind of freedom that others do not share._ '

It was something that couldn't be denied. The boy went back to listening to Claudia after having a few thoughts in his mind.

"Just so; it was I who forced the school to admit you. At that time I was truly appreciative for the position of student council president. Three cheers for power!"

"...don't you mean force?"

"If you'd rejected my invitation, that would have been rather embarrassing for me. Your change of heart was quite fortuitous."

"Who said anything about a change of heart?"

Ayato shrugged as Claudia narrowed her eyes.

"If that's the case, then why did you accept my invitation?"

Turning serious, Ayato placed his hands on the table, and looked Claudia in the eye.

"Claudia, there are only two reasons why I'm even standing here. One would be the news surrounding my sister - Amagiri Haruka - once attended this very school...Is it true?"

"Hmm, well, how to put this?"

Claudia directly accepted his gaze, extending her forefinger.

"All I know is a rumor, that she once attended this school. All information regarding her stay here has since been deleted by an unknown party."

"Deleted...Is that really possible?"

"Generally speaking, of course not."

"Even for the student council president?"

"Even someone in this position is hardly omnipotent...although, if it were someone a step above that, that's another matter entirely."

Continuing to stare at Claudia's bitter smile, Ayato's serious expression didn't fade.

A position even higher than the student council president, in other words, the Integrated Enterprise Foundation.

"There are no records of 'her' ever having taken part in the Festa, nor is 'her' name recorded in the Named Charts Battle Omnicon. To be frank, whether or not she ever attended this school is unknown. Assuming she did indeed attend here, that was but some five years prior. There are both students and faculty here who have been here this entire time, and yet none remember her. The strange point is this, though."

"Any possibility the competition records were altered?"

"None. For starters, hiding someone means pulling the wool over the eyes of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, of fans who watch the Festa. Each Festa is broadcast live all over the world, and the Named Charts are updated in real-time, as well as online. Even small incidents like the occasional intra-school duel are immediately captured by the media, and immediately spread to every corner of the city. Take, for example, the duel between you and Julis; it's already on the web."

"You mean..."

Almost as if to interrupt Ayato's words, Claudia operated the computer beside her.

A screen dropped down, depicting a young woman.

Ayato's eyes opened wide.

"This is all we've been able to recover. She entered five years ago, departing after just half a year for personal reasons. Her name, birthdate, background; almost nothing remains."

Nonetheless, for Ayato, that was already more than enough.

This was it! Without a doubt!

"...How did you come by this, Claudia?"

In order to recover lost information, one obviously had to be first aware it had been discarded. However, of this student, neither records nor memories remained.

That being the case, how did Claudia know?

"I apologize. I'm afraid I can't reveal that. Do you not trust me?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant at all," Ayato frantically responded.

As a student council president, she definitely had her own sources of intelligence.

It went without saying that such things were confidential. Something that Ayato knew very well in recent years.

"It's just that, the way I see it, regardless of what's occurred since, it's almost a surety that 'she' is no longer here. If your reason for coming is her..."

As Claudia spoke, she grew increasingly flustered, however, Ayato's expression quickly returned to normal, and he shook his head.

"Thank you. Don't worry about it; my reason for coming wasn't because of her. Far from that to be honest with you Claudia."

In response, Claudia inquired further with a questioning gaze.

"Then...what about your second reason for attending this school?"

"Hmm..."

Ayato folded his arms, lost in thought, before answering with a smile.

"If I had to say, it's probably because I would like to discover a goal to seek after, I'm at that crossroad in my early life. I must also assume you know...about...'that' part of my life. If anything, the only reason I'm here is because I want to a break from the living hell I've been through for the past few years..."

"Yes, I as well as the Academy received the information...regarding your time with the ISD. It was interesting to say the least..."

Claudia saw something clicked inside the awkward and innocent Ayato and within a second, his posture changed from being somewhat relaxed to guarded. She frowned upon seeing his eyes as well from being that of innocence to one that of a warrior, one that has seen the worst the world has to offer. She could fully see the scar that was over his left eye, a very faint scar that can't be seen anymore. The fact that his black hair had some lines of gray, she thought it had something to do with the stress that he's accumulated over the years.

' _Why must someone my own age, go through something like this...?_ '

"I know that must be strange to see someone, one that has seen real life combat, is here attending this school. And to no one's surprise, they asked the school about me coming back when they require me for a mission, didn't they?"

"To our surprise, they said you were going to be needed within this city for some security missions. I feel like you know something we do not and while you're affiliated with an international security agency that works with mercenaries, I would at least like to know what they meant by that..."

Claudia felt that Ayato shouldn't hide something if the city itself was being targeted. The truth, however, was that he'd honestly tried his best to respond. He didn't want to lie to her, but the ISD Council made it very clear that he is to not give away any information about their special forces operations in the city.

His answer was to be vague enough to the point where he didn't reveal any info, but enough to satisfy Claudia as well.

"The ISD Council informed me that this was more of a security mission, more than anything else. And since the city council also recently asked for their assistance and so I'm here as a part of the task force to help the city out after the recent attacks by the Project Liberty Militia, or the Black Sea Shark's attacks on European cities as well their growing influence in the Middle East."

The girl across from him looked rather divided, like she was trying to figure out if this was the truth or if this was a lie to throw her off from find the real reason why. One that would change the world for the most part and have everyone look at the ISD in disgust.

Well, not that they really care how they were viewed by the rest of the world.

"Oh! That's right; I almost forgot to tell you something."

Clapping her hands together, Claudia suddenly cut in.

"Our special invitee students, aside from waived fees and the like, have several other privileges. One of these is priority access to the school's Ogre Lux Pure Star Type Armaments."

"Ogre Lux refers to those which use a special type of Mana Dite, right?"

"That's correct. They use an Ulm Mana Dite."

Among the meteorites that had fallen to the Earth during the Ember Tears, accompanying the unknown element now known as Mana, was also the unique ore; manadite. A 'Mana Dite' is the crystallization of the element Mana, from the Mana bering ore manadite, and recent advances have allowed for its artificial production.

Meteoric engineering research into Mana, manadite and Mana Dites had paved the way for new industry, not the least of which was centered around the ability to employ the Mana (in Mana Dites) as an energy source for weapons; the Lux Shining Type Armaments.

When activated, Lux weapons materialize and focus Mana, producing a blade of light (there are also arrow and bullet forms).

The might conferred by Lux weapons exceeded those of existing weapons, and furthermore, carried other beneficial properties (for example, a Lux gun needs no ammunition). For this reason, for the most part, Lux weapons have since replaced traditional weaponry. They have become popular to the point that they now see such widespread use as weaponry, self-defense tools, and even children's toys.

Among the types of Mana Dite is one of exceedingly high purity, and equally rare. These are the so-called Ulm Mana Dites, which form the core of the Ogre Lux weapons. Their capabilities are incomparable to those of normal Lux weaponry, but are rumored to be even more difficult to control than the unique Mana abilities of the Genestella and it's generation of Strega and Dante.

The vast majority of Ogre Lux weaponry belong to the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, although a select number are provided to each school for research purposes.

"If you'd prefer not to utilize an Ogre Lux, then of course, we won't force you. They do carry some side effects, after all. That's the 'price' of using something like that. What do you think?"

"I've heard you first need to verify compatibility?"

All users of an Ogre Lux, when drawing out their weapon's power, experience some sort of change.

If rumors are to be believed, then Ogre Lux weapons are self-aware, and choose their own owners.

"More than that, you should say it's the most important factor. Here at Seidoukan Academy, the minimum requirement is an eighty percent compatibility rating. Any lower than that, and we can't accommodate the wishes of the student in loaning out the item."

"Hmm..."

Putting aside for a second whether or not he was interested, having to go through procedures to borrow the item in question each and every time struck Ayato as troublesome; in any case, to begin with, he had no idea if he was compatible or not.

Knowing Ayato had his own thoughts on the matter, and seeing his wavering expression, Claudia was mindful of his concerns.

"What's the matter?"

"Well, this isn't something I've been able to verify, so take it with a grain of salt. Truth be told, the requirement to register in order to use an Ogre Lux is a little suspicious."

"What do you mean?"

"The management of Ogre Lux weaponry is necessarily strict. But using 'who is currently borrowing what Lux' records seems almost a pretext for something else. More specifically, it's almost like by using verified combat data, they're trying to isolate that combat data which has no associated registration information."

"By that you mean... unregistered Lux use?"

"Well, if the record's been altered, yes. I think the probability is quite high. These records are housed within the database of the management department, which has accumulated untold amounts of Ogre Lux combat data. As its inner workings are far from clear, it's impossible to eliminate the possibility of tampering."

"Let me guess, that data remnant is from five years previous?"

"Exactly."

Ayato sighed heavily.

"If that's how it is, it seems best that I take a look myself."

According to this reasoning, the probability that his sister had used an Ogre Lux is quite high. If that was the case, he wanted to confirm with his own eyes the Lux weapon she'd used.

"I understand. I'll look into this more thoroughly and then notify you of my findings. For now, please use this."

What Claudia extended to him was a Lux activation tool.

"This is a traditional sword-style Lux. It's already been configured with your personal settings, but if you'd like to make any modifications, please pay the Equipment Division a visit."

"Ah, thank you. Oh, that reminds me."

Seeing this Lux reminded Ayato of the one he'd borrowed earlier, the one that a member of the crowd had thrown for him during the duel with Julis.

"This is troubling, how do I return this...?"

Ayato pulled out the Lux from earlier, but unfortunately, as expected, there was not a name engraved there.

"Oh, don't worry about it. If it's just that, the school just hands them out."

"Really? That's pretty generous."

This kind of combat-refined Lux is of course not cheap. Nevertheless, when compared with the potential benefits that came from the Festa, they were of small value indeed. And compared to the weapons that Ayato was used to, from heavily armored vehicles to modern guns, these were nothing compared to those.

"Switching topics for a second, I just thought of something. Mind if I ask?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You'd mentioned 'one last procedure'...what was it?"

"Oh, that. Well-"

Saying that, Claudia suddenly stopped.

Stopping to contemplate for a moment, she quickly glanced around.

"...Is something the matter?"

Ayato asked, with a bit of suspicion.

"Oh, not at all! It's nothing like that."

Claudia waved her hands frantically, giving off an appearance utterly unlike that of just earlier.

Her cheeks seemed to have taken on a slight reddish tint, and her gaze was lowered.

"Er, how do I say this, would you mind closing your eyes for just a moment?"

"Alright."

Why would this last procedure require closing one's eyes?

Despite this thought, Ayato had no intention of investigating further, and obediently shut his eyes.

He heard the slight whine of chair wheels, and not long after-

"Ehh..."

Ayato felt a slight impact on his back.

Though he was slightly taken by surprise, it wasn't like it'd hurt; in fact, the sensation was rather soft.

Or rather, wasn't it too soft?

"Huh?"

There's no way, Ayato thought, as he opened his eyes. Opened to his gaze were a pair of hands, enclosed around his abdomen. In other words, he'd been hugged from behind.

"Claudia? Can I ask what you're doing?"

"Ufufu."

The unbelievably soft yet overwhelming mass pressed into Ayato from behind. Ayato, anxious, was unsure what he should do.

If there was anything he could do, that is.

"...Finally...Finally I get to see you..."

The bits and pieces of muttered words he heard were faint, but spoke clearly of long repressed nostalgia. It confused him, he surely would have remembered meeting someone like Claudia Enfield before, although after the constant sounds of war from armored piercing tank shells to bullets whirring past his head. For the most part, his memories of his early life were murky.

But, even with that, his mind would have remembered a girl like Claudia in his life...

Although the feeling was indisputably conveyed, Ayato could only shake these thoughts from his mind.

"Hey Claudia? Have...we...ever met before?"

He received no response at first. It made him wonder if they really did meet before...

Ayato briefly considered turning to look behind him, though, fact of the matter was, he was completely at a loss.

More importantly, someone who left such a strong impression on others such as Claudia could hardly be forgotten, right? For some indeterminate length, that moment in time simply continued, the two of them unmoving and silent. Finally, the two arms released him.

"Fufu. I'm just teasing. Were you surprised?"

Ayato finally turned to look, finding a thoroughly genuine smile awaiting him.

It was just a gut feeling, but he felt like he'd lost the opportunity to inquire further.

"...Getting suddenly hugged like that from behind; is there anyone who wouldn't be surprised?"

"Don't misunderstand. That's not something I'd do for just anyone. I'm quite pure, you know?"

Claudia covered her mouth with her hand, and coupled with her earlier statement, it was difficult to tell which parts were just a joke.

"So?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell me that was the so-called 'last procedure'?"

Ayato forcibly brought things back on topic.

Disregarding everything else that had occurred, this was the primary reason Ayato had come, after all.

"Ohh...that. Yeah, that was a lie."

"...Lie?"

Ayato felt a small smile crawling onto his face. He didn't tend to smile or laugh very often, and this was one of the few times he ever did since he got back from operating within the areas of conflict on the other side of the globe.

"Because it's easier this way~"

From the looks of things, Claudia didn't feel the least bit of remorse.

"You're already a part of this school, procedures and what not, it's a~ll done already. It's just that, in that circumstance, this was the most effective way to handle things. Julis is quite the zealous person, so I can guarantee that if it wasn't 'a violation of school regulations', she'd undoubtedly have continued that duel."

"But, but that's..."

"Oh, do you mean to say that you would have preferred to continue?"

Of course...Ayato wasn't against the idea...but he was polite when it came to the opposite gender.

"If things had continued down that course, what would you have done? Neither I nor the school have any desire of witnessing such things."

Well, if nothing else, what Claudia had done had been for his sake, after all. While her actions weren't quite to the degree of 'ruthless', her way of doing things definitely differed from her own appearance.

Nor could hide nor hair be found of the weak and delicate Claudia who had hugged him just now. It baffled him to say the least, the expression she had, it was one that made Ayato seem to want to protect her...

For him, it evoked some emotions that he never really felt before...

"Now then, class is about to start, so let's end things here. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. If there's anything I can do to help, it'd be my pleasure."

Smiling beautifully, Claudia sent Ayato off with her gaze.

 **~o0o~**

 **Same Day**

 **Homeroom, Seidoukan Academy**

"Ah- Well then, this is the special transfer student Amagiri Ayato. Please get along well with everyone."

What a careless introduction.

Because of their new environment, teachers usually placed extra emphasis on caring for transfer students; in this instance, however, not the slightest hint of concern could be felt.

Ayato turned to gaze at the woman by his side, the homeroom teacher of Year 1 Class 3, Yatsuzaki Kyouko, whose only reaction was to say, "It's your turn now."

She was rather tall, with a gaze best described as penetrating...or perhaps ferocious, and a tone and an attitude utterly unsuited to being a teacher. That said, that was not what was most surprising, which would be the nailed bat she held in her hands. Well-worn, and dyed a deep scarlet, its forbidding presence discouraged further inquiry.

"Hey, hurry it up."

"Alright, alright woman! I'm Amagiri Ayato. Pleased to meet all of you."

Ayato's introduction extended only as far as his name; perhaps he wasn't the talkative type.

Every gaze in the room centered on him.

There were students who were intrigued by his appearance, students who couldn't care less, students who seemed to stare deeply for no reason whatsoever, and students who were on guard about what he could do.

Transfer students were always the subject of attention, but this was rather excessive.

Just one girl stared at Ayato with a complicated expression, the reasoning for which Ayato was only too aware.

"Seat, hmm...Ah, why don't you sit with the person you were playing with fire with earlier today. It just so happens to be empty, perfect."

"Who, who did you say was playing with fire with that guy?!"

The person Kyouko had referenced, Julis, stood up, her face reddening.

"Hmm, who other than you, Riessfeld? This morning, you were too unrestrained. As a member of the Top Twelve, you can't just rampage about whenever you feel like it. This is not Le Wolfe after all!"

"Gu..."

Julis reluctantly sat back down in her seat, located in the second row from the back.

Luckily, there were empty seats on either side of her.

"I'd never have guessed we'd be classmates."

"...I'm not laughing."

At Ayato's words, Julis could only sigh.

Not all that warm of a welcome, it seems.

"Even though lots of things happened earlier, in short, pleased to meet you."

Julis still had a few words for Ayato, so she turned to him to speak.

"I owe you, so when you need my help, I'll lend you a hand just once. Other than that, leave me alone."

Having said her piece, she abruptly turned away.

After which...

"Haha, rejected."

From behind drifted over a comment half sympathetic, half exclamatory.

Ayato turned around. He saw a young man with lean facial features, a sympathetic expression on his face, extending a hand toward him.

"Well, you are dealing with the Princess, after all."

Ayato grasped the young man's hand, which he shook vigorously.

"My name's Yabuki Eishirou. We're roommates."

"Roommates...you mean in the dorms?"

"Yep. My room was intended for two people after all."

"My apologies. After having the room to yourself for so long, it must be a little cramped now."

"No worries."

Eishirou seemed to be quite the candid young man.

Though it wasn't immediately obvious while he was sitting, he and Ayato seemed to be around the same height. His attitude seemed rather childlike, but both his expression and his stature spoke of his maturity. His left cheek bore an obvious scar, giving a sense of unbalanced aesthetics. The last two things could also be said about Ayato himself as he seemed have a much more mature attitude, but not by much.

"Anyway, if I'm going to have a roommate, I'm glad it's an interesting one."

"...I'm a pretty ordinary person, you know?"

"What're you talking about? The very first morning of your transfer, and already dueling one of the Top Twelve? What's more, daring to push down that Princess in front of that crowd of onlookers? There's no need for false modesty here."

Ayato felt he hadn't the slightest degree of false modesty, and if given the opportunity, would gladly take an hour or two to clear up the misunderstanding. Nevertheless, it appeared as if rumor had long since spread.

Accordingly, the second class ended, he found himself surrounded.

"Hey, Amagiri, what happened at your previous school? Transferring in at this time means something must have happened right?"

"Also, why were you dueling the Princess? We still haven't received any information on that!"

"Nononono, what's important is, is it really okay to be that passionate about the Princess? Hmm? What do I mean? Wasn't that duel about ending your love in a blaze of glory? Or wait, maybe forbidden love?"

"Wait, wait! Rather than all that ridiculousness, what I want to know is your strategy for fighting the Princess! How'd you do it?"

"I never expected this."

The other group of students were separated by a wall of indifference.

"This is, of course, due to the Gruene Rose's lenience toward a newcomer."

"Honestly. Whether it be personal background or reactionary speed, this is far in excess of what passes for normal in this city. Relatively speaking, this might be even harder than making it into the Named Charts."

"Why's someone like that a special invitee? Not that it matters one way or another."

And so on and so forth.

It felt to Ayato as if class had continued without ceasing. By the end of the school day, he was exhausted in both heart and mind.

"Ugh..."

"It's been hard on you. It sure isn't fun being popular."

The light of the setting sun poured through the classroom windows, shining upon Ayato, collapsed upon his desk in exhaustion, and Eishirou, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Well, I've come to a realization through all of this."

"Of?"

"That I'm not the popular one; Julis is."

Ayato glanced at the seat by his side, exaggeratedly shrugging his shoulders.

The owner of that seat had vanished without trace the moment class ended.

"It wasn't that people were interested in me per se, but rather that they were curious about 'the one who'd dueled the Princess', right?"

"Hmm, not bad."

Eishirou applauded.

His expression revealed his esteem for Ayato's remark.

"The thing I don't get is this; if that's all they wanted, why not ask Julis directly?"

"If it was that easy, things wouldn't be like this. Haven't you noticed? That Princess isn't exactly friendly."

"...More or less, yes."

Thinking of the smile Julis had shown after having her handkerchief returned, Ayato wondered why she kept others at a distance.

"Well, who knows what the reason is, but it's a fact that she deliberately maintains a distance between herself and others. Moreover..."

"Um, just a moment. You've been saying 'the Princess' over and over; is that a nickname? It seems like everyone else was doing the same."

"Hrm, nickname or not, huh...Well, truth be told, she's an honest-to-goodness princess."

"...Huh?"

Ayato was sure he'd misheard.

"A princess? You mean like the kind in fairy tales?"

"Exactly. Getting cursed by an evil witch, saved by the kiss of a prince, forced into a political marriage, coming from a magical land, sold into slavery, and getting toyed with by tentacles, that kind of princess. Simply put, the daughter of a king."

Although the second half of that answer sounded rather strange to Ayato, he nonetheless understood.

"After the Ember Tears, the nations of Europe returned to being monarchies. While true control over both government and economics was grasped by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, they found it convenient to place puppet monarchs on the throne. The first princess of one of those countries, Lieseltania, is that Princess. Her full name is Julis Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld. Her name is recorded on Europe's list of royalty."

Ayato knew about them, but decided to play dumb. He's been assigned to providing security for a few of these kingdoms within the past year or so as the Project Liberty Militia have began targeting them as they would be 'examples' of how they should deal with other nations...

With the very city that Ayato was standing in, any of these days...it could be attacked by these terrorist.

' _I really hope the ISD get my equipment here in the next few days...plus Harper, David and Salazar better get here soon..._ '

"Um...that was a little too detailed, don't you think?"

"Oh, this is just purchased information. Provided by the Newspaper Club, incidentally."

He smiled brazenly.

"Why was the Princess fighting in a place like that anyway? Normally, princesses should be more graceful."

Remembering the incident where he'd nearly been roasted alive, Ayato tilted his head in thought.

Julis indeed possessed elegant demeanor, august manner, and boldness - in excess.

"Who would have guessed you didn't know yourself? And here I was, thinking I'd get the inside scoop."

Eishirou wore a serious expression which seemed to say, "looks like my information was correct."

"She's decidedly lovely, fiercely strong, and a real princess to boot. It's obvious that she'd be the center of attention. Since joining our class last year, she hasn't just caught the eye of others; they stirred themselves into a fanatic fervor as her 'guards'. Not long ago, she issued them a command."

"...I can picture that all too easily."

"Anyway, do you know what it was she told them? 'Silence! I am not a work of art to be admired.'"

"...Again, all too easily imagined."

"The majority ran off, but as expected, this completely normal response left some very unhappy. The Princess responded by challenging each of them to a duel in turn, and one by one, defeating them handily. Not long after, the Princess soon achieved a position as one of the Top Twelve."

That was to be expected.

Having fought Julis himself, Ayato was very aware that her strength was anything but a sham. Even here at the War-Academy City, Asterisk, there were likely only a handful of individuals stronger than her.

"That's why, there's no one capable of approaching that Princess. Until today, there hasn't been a single person able to work up the courage to simply talk to her like that."

"Uh...how do I say this; she does have friends, right?"

"At least as far as I know, no, no one. Oh, pardon me for just a moment."

Eishirou raised his hand to forestall further comment, before reaching into his pocket to withdraw his ringing phone.

"What's up, President?"

In between them a 'space' window had opened, displaying a girl with shoulder-length hair snarling at full volume.

"Don't ask me 'what's up'! I told you already I wanted your article proofread and ready for printing first thing in the morning! What on Earth have you been doing!?"

"Ah, sorry, something came up..."

"No excuses! Just get your ass over here within the next five minutes!"

As the space window suddenly disappeared, Eishirou kneaded his forehead with a wry smile.

"...Well, that's how it is. If I don't head over, things won't go well for me."

"It's just about time for me to head back anyway."

"Let's meet back at the dorms then."

"Before that...Yabuki!"

Facing Eishirou, preparing to exit the classroom, Ayato tossed something to him.

"Ohh?"

Eishirou caught the item with a surprised look on his face. Inspecting it more carefully, he laughed.

"So you noticed."

"Thank you. If it wasn't for this, I'm sure things wouldn't have ended that simply."

What he'd thrown was a Lux activation tool.

It wasn't, however, the one he'd received from Claudia, but rather the one from this morning.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Hmm? Oh, your voice."

Playing things down, Ayato replied mildly, but Eishirou's face lit up.

"In the middle of all of that, you still remember a single voice from that crowd so clearly?"

"Return what is owed. That's something my sister repeated time and time again."

"...Hah! As I thought, you really are interesting!"

Eishirou shook with laughter.

"So, Amagiri, the duel from this morning...in actuality, you won, didn't you?"

"...Ehh, for the current me, I don't think that's possible."

This was not a lie.

"Hmm...'the current you', is it?"

Satisfied with his answer, Eishirou left the room with a lively gait.

Ayato, now alone in the room, sighed heavily.

"This school is really more difficult than expected."

* * *

 **I finished this chapter and well finally it's done...**

 **Yeah, this will be something I'm going to enjoy writing this to tell you the truth, I wanted to add some military elements to this story and here is the product in it's form at the moment. Still need to write the next few chapters.**

 **And with summer around the corner, expect a lot more from me.**

 **See ya guys later!**


	3. Chapter 3

" _The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his._ " - George S. Patton

* * *

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 3: Encounter**

 **Same Day**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"Huh? Crap, I must have taken the wrong path."

Ayato had taken what he had originally supposed was a shortcut, cutting through the courtyard, only to find himself trapped behind a locked gate.

It looked like certain school entrances were locked once night fell.

Although the gate was quite tall, it wasn't to the degree that he couldn't make it over if he jumped. Still, remembering the incident from this morning, he decided to play it safe since he didn't want to scare anyone that might be walking on the other side of it.

"Ah, whatever. It's not like I'm in a rush anyway."

Moreover, taking a walk was one of his admittedly few hobbies, besides the rather strange ones involving weapons and just training with his sword that he created a few months ago when he first started his life as a mercenary.

The central courtyard was larger than a mid-sized park, and all vegetation had been carefully trimmed.

Looking closely, semi-human robots with doll-like forms, replicants, were pruning the trees. Though it seemed military-use replicants were remote-controlled, the actions of ordinary replicants were automated, and thus both slow and limited to simple commands. These days, such acts of manual labor in harsh working environments were generally the purview of the replicants.

Though in the country Ayato had previously resided in, this was a sight rarely seen. Such creations were used for simple labor here, while over in third world countries, they were used in battle to help shift the advantage to the opponent's side.

"...If that's the case, why'd you duel that newcomer!"

A young man's voice was heard by Ayato. Only someone rather ill-mannered would be roaring in public like this, the air shaking at his volume while Ayato didn't have the best of manners, he knew things like this weren't proper.

' _An argument, is it...?_ '

Ayato hid in the shadow of a nearby tree. Positioned in front of him was a pavilion, within which stood three male students. The most noticeable of the three was the one in the center, of large stature and, evident even from Ayato's location, an overbearing manner. The other two, one skinny and one slightly overweight, trailed slightly behind, almost like younger brothers.

The other party sat within, hidden from view.

At the circumstances, which looked primed to erupt at any moment, Ayato refused to turn a blind eye. Nonetheless, given both his role as a third party and his unfamiliarity with school customs, he felt it best to limit his actions to observation for the time being. With his combat instincts telling him the same advice as well.

However.

"Answer me, Julis!"

Upon hearing the familiar name, he unconsciously leaned out from behind the tree. Surprised to hear that Julis was at the center of this argument with the largest of the male students seemed upset and displeased with the girl's lack of response.

"I am under no obligation to answer you, Lester. Everyone has the privilege of dueling as we please." Said Julis.

"Of course, I'm the same."

Moving stealthily, Ayato caught a glimpse of a rose-haired girl seated within the pavilion.

It seemed like the tall male student, named Lester, was arguing with Julis, and it seemed that sparks would fly at any moment. Conflict was something Ayato knew very well and with his own experience he could tell that a fight was going to break out any minute.

It was a very volatile atmosphere.

"In the same way, we have the right to reject any duel in which we'd rather not take part. No matter how many times you ask, the answer is still no."

"And why is that?!"

"...It seems that you're incapable of understanding unless I tell you straight out." Julis sighed heavily before rising to meet Lester's glare. "To put it simply, I've already beaten you thrice. If we were to fight again, it'd just be a waste of my time."

"Next time, I'll win! How dare you always look down on others?! You haven't seen my real strength yet!"

"That's right, that's right! When Lester gets serious, no one's fit to be his opponent!" The pudgy student standing behind Lester took the opportunity to cut in with a comment of his own.

"Then feel free to demonstrate that strength - with someone else."

Julis unilaterally brought the conversation to a close by turning away.

"Wait! I'm not done yet...!" Lester reached out to take hold of Julis' shoulder...

Just then, Ayato stepped out from behind the tree. "Oh my, isn't this Julis? What a coincidence, meeting here."

"...What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?"

At Ayato's timing and words, too perfect to be truly be coincidence, Julis, Lester, and his two lackeys all frowned at seeing Ayato.

"Hahaha...It seems I took a wrong turn somewhere."

"Ah! Lester! That guy is the new transfer student!" Prompted the pudgy student.

"What...!?"

Lester's glare, filled with provocation, pierced through Ayato.

Ayato, on the other hand, was completely calm as he spoke to Julis, but she could feel a certain danger to his calm voice like it was nothing more than an act for people to see. For someone she had met just earlier today, he was full of surprises, "Julis, this individual is...?"

"...Lester McPhail, ranked ninth in our school."

Julis folded her hands behind her back, a blank expression on her face. "Oh, so you're also a Page One. That's amazing."

"Ah, right. I'm Amagiri Ayato; it's nice to meet you." Although Ayato extended his left hand for a handshake, Lester pretended he hadn't seen it, opting instead to continue to stare daggers at the male student in front of him.

From up close, Lester's exaggerated stature was all the more apparent. He looked just about two meters tall, with broad shoulders and well-toned musculature.

The muscles of those in the Starpulse Generation were indeed different from others. In addition to the their increased effectiveness, they had the peculiar trait of not changing much in appearance even with training. Lester's well-defined muscles thus spoke to the degree of training they'd undergone.

His short, tawny hair stood on end and his facial features twisted in rage. "You'd...You'd willingly duel someone like that, and yet won't accept my challenge...?" Lester clenched his fists as his voice began to tremble with rage.

"Don't screw with me! You're going to suffer defeat at my hands! No matter what tricks you try!"

Lester's eyes had long ceased to take note of Ayato's presence. Waving his hands, he approached Julis.

"Wait! Please wait Lester-san! Calm down...note where we are..." Lester was heedless of the cries of his skinny compatriot, trying to stop him from doing something he may regret doing at the end of this situation.

Although Julis was of average height for a girl her age, that meant nothing in the face of Lester's frightening physique.

That notwithstanding, Julis retreated not one step, instead responding firmly and resolutely. "That's impossible. Until you change that personality of yours, no different from a wild boar, that will never happen."

"Wha... How dare you!" Though he seemed ready to explode, if he reacted on impulse in this situation, he'd only be validating Julis' claim.

"Y-you! You're going to regret looking down on Lester! Next time, for sure...!"

"Shut it, Landy!" Lester roared at his flunky and exited the pavilion, his rage barely restrained.

"Don't you dare underestimate me! I will make you acknowledge my strength!" Shouting these words, Lester left the scene, with the remaining two scrambling after him.

"Ugh... I can't stand him."

Waiting until they had passed out of sight, Julis sat down once more.

"Ahaha... it looks like I've stuck my head somewhere unwanted again."

The new male student simply sighed, his own luck forced him into situations like these as well as his own experience allowed him to diffuse the situation at hand before it got any worse and someone ending up injured, albeit that was a small of chance of happening though.

"Seriously. Thanks to your meddling, I wasted more time than usual." Julis replied, more annoyed than anything else.

"Sorry about that. Is it usually like this?"

Julis threw her hands up in response. "Lester can't stand me. Even though there are others like him, he's still the first to harass me to this degree."

"But still, he's ranked ninth. He must be quite strong, right?" Ayato thought he'd follow up by asking if things were fine. Even though he'd only known Julis for half a day, he knew she wasn't the kind of person to speak ill of others.

"If you're going to ask if he's strong or not, well then, of course he's strong. That said, the ranking doesn't just refer to how capable you find a place in among the Named Charts requires more than just strength; suitability matters more than anything else." Julis lifted her face, the corner of her lips turning in a smile.

Seeing Julis' eyes light up, Ayato hurriedly turned his gaze.

"Seeing as this is the perfect opportunity, I want to ask you something."

"Hmm...Wha, what would that be?"

"The duel this morning, were you using Meteor Arts Meteoric Battle Techniques? How'd you use that Lux without tuning it first?"

"Oh. No, that wasn't."

"...What do you mean?"

"Well, to begin with, I can't use Meteor Arts. Truth is, I've never really found a Lux I'm compatible with before, a cause of no small frustration for me. If given the chance, I'm much more accustomed to using a normal weapon."

"Then that technique from this morning...?"

"That was purely kenjutsu. My family used to run a dojo which practices sword techniques passed on from long ago, so I can somehow manage."

"That was just kenjutsu...?" Julis' eyes opened wide in astonishment.

"...If it's a Lux blade, severing my flames isn't something unimaginable. With that said, this is the first time I've ever seen anyone do such a job of it. Just what levels of swordsmanship have you attained...?"

"Haha, nothing out of the ordinary."

He continued to lie about the abilities he has, as well as the experience he's gained from being a mercenary on the other side of the world. Lying was something he was quite improved in and it's helped him avoid situations

"...Forget it. You just keep wearing that stupid expression and playing the role of a spectator. This isn't the kind of place you think it is, where you can just naively stride your way through things."

"I'm nowhere near that naive." Ayato shook his head lightly. "Anyway, Julis, why are you taking part in these kinds of dangerous battles?"

"What?"

"I'm curious. You're a princess, right?"

"I most certainly am Lieseltania's First Princess, but that's not why. Those who come to this school are all fighting for the same reason - to grasp those things which cannot be obtained otherwise. This holds true regardless of title or position or anything like that."

Although she answered in a calm voice, her iron will and steely resolve could be clearly felt.

"...And what is it that you seek?" Ayato was unsure if he should continue this line of questioning, but in the end, he continued.

Surprisingly, Julis answered. "Money."

"I need money, and fighting here is the quickest way to get it."

...a princess was fighting for money? No matter how you looked at it, a princess ought to be rather wealthy indeed. Just what did she mean?

"There's not much time left. I must seize the victor's crown at each event of this season's Festa. That's my goal."

"Winning all three events..." In other words, a 'grand slam.' Ayato fully understood just how impossible a task that was.

"That's right. First up is the Phoenix. At the very least, I need the money from that."

The prize money from the Festa was split among the winners. Supposedly winning just once was enough to live comfortably for the rest of one's life.

As Ayato was still searching for his own goal, her answer was hard to digest.

The differences between what they sought were readily apparent. Ayato wanted a break from the endless fighting he's done over the past eight to seven years and seeing that Julis was doing this for money may seem nothing more than human greed at it's best, Julis didn't seem like that type of person to Ayato.

He knew what signs to look for, and Julis wanted this money for something else, not for her, but for something else entirely.

His remaining question, however, was much more easily answered. "Speaking of which, I seem to remember you're still looking for a partner?" Remembering Claudia's words to Julis from earlier, he inquired.

The Phoenix was a partner-based tag-team format, and thus Julis was incapable of entering by herself.

"Mm, that's right. There certainly is such a requirement." Julis mumbled out a reply. Finding a partner was anything but trivial for her - given her personality - this was, after all, only to be expected.

"E-even if I haven't found a partner yet, don't take that to mean I don't have any friends, ok?! Or rather, even though I really don't have any friends, this and that are two different things. The problem is that I can't find anyone who meets my standards for a partner."

She'd just admitted she had no friends.

' _Oh...god...that's some sad shit right there..._ '

It didn't surprise the mercenary by any means, he didn't make many friends over there, most of the time it was people he could rely on to make sure he doesn't get shot at while doing the same for them. It was strictly business over there.

"So what kind of person are you looking for?"

"That, hmm...Well, for starters, they can't be weaker than me; at the level of one of the Top Twelve. They must have impeccable character, a keen mind, staunch will, and the noble spirit of a knight."

Ayato pinched the bridge of his nose when he heard the ridiculous requirements to be her partner.

"...Isn't that a bit much Julis?"

"Re-really? I'd considered lowering my standards a bit..."

This part of her was true to her image as a princess. Expecting the very best qualities when very people in this world can match most of these, that was rare to find with people having flaws and faults that tend to make them different from others, both good and bad ways.

"The registration deadline is rapidly approaching. This really isn't the time to be so demanding."

Julis muttered to herself, picking up her bag and rising. "Well, it's about time for me to head on back. Actually, first, I want to ask something. What brought you here?"

"Oh, well, originally I thought this way was a shortcut, but the gate was locked."

"Yeah, once evening comes, some of the gates will lock automatically, though this seems to be restricted to those connected to the junior high building."

That made sense.

"Hmm, even if you say they close automatically, is there really no chance that they'd take a day off and just stay open?"

"Huh?"

"Well, it's just that I like to go out for walks, and so this is kinda troublesome."

At Ayato's words, Julis looked like she'd just caught a glimpse of a total fool.

"...A-ahahaha!" Unable to restrain herself, she broke out into laughter.

"Of course not! Are you an idiot or something? After what happened this morning, did you really not think to consult a map? Don't worry, even if it's night, the high school gates don't close."

She looked as if she'd just told the greatest joke.

This expression suited her age, and for a moment, she looked nothing so much like a normal girl.

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Julis asked, seeing the expression on the boy's face.

"Nothing. I just never thought you'd smile like that."

"What!?"

Julis reddened.

"W-what are you saying all of a sudden?! Are you making fun of me?" Returning to her default angry state, she turned aside in a huff.

"You should try and lighten up a little, otherwise it's such a waste."

"So annoying; keep your words to yourself." Julis gritted her teeth. "A-And that leisurely look on your face; you should change it! A loose face and loose actions! That's the cause of this morning's stupidity!"

...That was getting a little carried away.

"Certainly, half of that was definitely my fault. The other half was caused by lack of knowledge."

This school was simply way too big. Add to that a mountain of unknown customs and practices, and it was all too much for a transfer student to take in.

Perhaps he should have someone guide him-

"Ah."

Ayato turned to stare at Julis. "Wh-What is it...?" Julis unconsciously reddened slightly and retreated a step.

"Julis, would you mind showing me around campus? Oh, and around town as well?"

"...What?"

In response to Ayato's request, Julis' thinly veiled disgust showed on her face. "What're you talking about? Why should I do anything like that?"

"Because, didn't you say that you owed me one? You never said anything about what I could call it in for. At least hear me out."

"Well, I certainly did say that...Don't tell me you're being serious?"

"Serious?"

"If that's what you really want, then sure. My original intention was that when you found yourself in a moment of crisis, I'd come to your aid. The favor I owe you isn't something trivial. Anything up to a certain degree - excepting, of course, anything shameless - is fine; for example, borrowing my strength, the strength of a Page One."

"By that you mean you'd lend me your strength in battle?"

"Exactly."

"Not interested."

Ayato rejected her offer flat-out with a shake of his head.

"As before, I think getting more familiar with this campus is best."

At his immediate reply, having spared not a moment's thought before answering, Julis turned a questioning glance at Ayato before laughing.

"What an immeasurable man. Or maybe just an idiot...?"

"...If those are my choices, I'll go with the first, thank you."

"You don't say. Whatever, forget it. If you want me to guide you, then allow me."

"I appreciate the help."

"I... it can't be helped. A favor's a favor. The campus tour we can do tomorrow, after school. As for the tour of the city, hmm...leave your day off free."

"My thanks."

And the last of his worries was solved.

"Alright, then I'll head back now...the hell?"

Turning to exit the pavilion, Ayato's lapel was grabbed from behind.

"Here's the first lesson. If you want to head back to the male dorms from here, the fastest way is through the university building."

"Thanks. Also, if your 'lessons' were a little gentler next time, it'd be greatly appreciated."

Looking at Ayato, choking, Julis smiled lightly.

"That wasn't listed as a requirement just now, so... I refuse."

 **~o0o~**

 **Male Dormitory**

 **Few minutes later**

By the time Ayato arrived back at the dorms, the sky had already turned dark.

The male dormitories faced directly opposite the female dorms, with the high school building in between. When compared to the female dormitory building, with its classical architecture, the male building was decidedly more plain.

"Hmm, room 221, looks like."

This time carefully double-checking a map, Ayato entered the room.

Although each of the buildings were separated, the use of a communal staircase gave opportunities to catch glimpse of both junior high and university students, a rather novel experience. There were a few students who studied Ayato like a rare animal. This left him feeling out of place, a feeling he ended by shaking their hands.

Room 221 was located on the second floor. Next to the door, a shiny new nameplate read 'Amagiri Ayato'.

Knocking on the door before he entered. A familiar voice could be heard from the inside of the room.

"Welcome back. It's pretty late, though."

"Some things happened." Ayato walked in, and saw Eishirou lying on his bed, waving his hand in welcome.

"Wow, it's bigger than I imagined."

It was a ten-tatami room, already furnished with a bed and a desk. Aside from a chair, not a thing lay in sight, except the luggage he'd sent earlier.

"Is that all your stuff? There's way too little!"

"Just clothes and what little possessions I had anyway, so I don't the see the reason to be surprised dude. You don't have all that much either, Yabuki."

All that adorned Eishirou's desk was a pile of sticky notes and a mountain of books; all in all, rather plain.

"I don't bother with things that don't interest me. Everything there is related to club activities."

"That reminds me, the newspaper club ought to know. The student named Lester, what kind of person is he?"

"Lester? Lester McPhail?"

"That sounds right. I hear he's ranked ninth?"

"You've heard correctly. Kornephoros Furious Axe of Distant Thunder Lester."

Eishirou sat up, fiddled with his phone for a bit, and brought up a display screen space window in midair.

An image of the person he had just seen appeared before his eyes.

"Lester McPhail. First year student at Seidoukan Academy, ranked ninth among the Top Twelve. His style leverages his physical strength, proving unmatched in close-quarters combat. However, he has no strategies for dealing with the Strega or Dante. His weapon is an axe-shaped Lux named 'Bardiche Leo'."

"Oh, impressive."

"Well, that's all stuff you can find online. If you want more detailed information, then that's an altogether different matter."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you need this."

Eishirou rubbed his fingers together. Ayato smirked at this.

"Huh, so money can get you info here too, I see things don't change that much from over there."

He muttered the last part of his sentence while he heard the first part and answered it.

"Of course. Students at this school - actually, this applies to all the schools; students of Asterisk City - can basically be divided into one of two groups. Those in the first are like the Princess, who place the Festa as their goal. The other consists of those like myself, who gave up on the Festa early on."

"...You've already given up?"

"That's right. Even if we're all from the same Starpulse Generation, it's ludicrous to even think of winning. Once you find yourself here, whether you want to or not, the difference between your abilities and others' is very quickly made apparent. Of this gaping chasm of ability, I am well-aware. Although, truth be told, to those who refuse to simply give in, that's not quite how we look at things."

"What do you mean by that?"

To Ayato's searching eyes, Eishirou seemed quite delighted.

"That's simple. When it comes to those of us who have nothing to do with the Festa, watching by the sidelines and cheerfully earning money as others fight it out is something only our Newspaper Club can do."

"But how does the Newspaper Club earn any money?"

Student club activities weren't exactly something you normally associated with making money.

"How rude! We happen to have plenty of work, you know? You've probably seen videos of Asterisk on the TV or on the web before, right? Those are the fruits of our labors. We have an agreement with outside news organizations who are unable to enter the premises."

That does seem to make sense. Granted, Ayato never saw many matches as he was almost spending most of his day out in combat areas, specifically in areas like Africa, the Middle East, and South America were all areas of hot conflict as well as money for mercenaries like him to make.

So these videos, and reports that Eishirou's club writes are completely new to the raven haired teen.

"Haha, so that's how it is. In other words, you guys sell this footage and other information to outside news organizations."

"Exactly."

Eishirou gave a thumbs-up.

"This aside, there are many other paths. Taking the clubs, for example, there's the meteoric engineering research society, whose skills likely exceed that of the equipment division. That said, when compared to the best in the city at it, Allekant Academy, we're nowhere near that level. There're also methods slightly less on the up and up which use match results as a grounds for betting. Numerous students make their money that way."

"...Not surprised by that, and with how money flows into the city like water, it's nothing more than a paradise for those who need it."

Their actions reflected perfectly what human nature was, to survive by any means necessary and with money being the primary resource in this world, and that was going to be exploited in any way possible.

Eishirou nodded his head, agreeing with Ayato's point on the city as well as humans being driven by greed.

"In today's world, as long as you have money, no one will say a word. "

The Integrated Enterprise Foundation's efforts to enliven the economy were centered around stimulating trade.

Achieving this goal required the smooth circulation of money. To this end, they would reward efforts which resulted in increased consumer spending.

It was for this very reason that Asterisk had been established.

"Put simply, particularly outstanding students usually have their own following. For the Top Twelve, this is doubly true."

"Hmm? Does that mean that Lester does as well?"

Ayato thought of the two students who had followed in his wake.

"Mm, do you mean this?"

Eishirou manipulated his phone, opening two more windows.

One person was rather thin and the other rather plump. Although their outer appearances were polar opposites, the servile, fawning expression on their faces was identical.

"Yeah, that's them, tweedle dee and tweedle dum."

Eishirou gave a look of confusion hearing that name before Ayato spoke up, "Don't worry about it, it's from a nursery rhyme that a friend of mine heard as a kid growing up."

After clearing that up, the boy continued on with his explanation about the two other students that were with Lester to Ayato.

"The skinny one is Cyrus Norman. He's a Dante, and though we have no records of his battles, his ability should be object manipulation. The slightly larger one is Landy Hooke. He was formerly listed among the Named Charts, although he has since dropped out of the standings. He uses a bow-type Lux."

"Just one after another..."

Ayato didn't know what to say.

Eishirou's information seemed to cover all sorts of prominent students, including even these two.

"Hehehe, scared, are we?"

Eishirou closed the windows and leaped onto his bed.

"Now then, it's just about time for dinner. Why don't I show you the cafeteria?"

"Before that, there's something else I'd like to ask about Lester."

"Hmm?"

"What's his relationship with Julis?"

At Ayato's question, Eishirou broke into a wide grin.

"I see, I see. Here I was, wondering why you'd suddenly ask about Lester all of a sudden; now it makes sense. You're really aiming for that Princess?"

"It's not like that."

Despite his words, it was the undeniable truth that Ayato was greatly concerned with Julis, though he wasn't quite clear why. He never really cared for anyone deeply outside of his, now missing, sister.

"Good question, but... Didn't I just finish explaining how this world works?"

Waiting for Ayato's nod of agreement, Eishirou opened another window.

This time it was a video. The screen showed a young girl, in command of flames, dancing around a battlefield.

Her opponent was a large male student, brandishing an axe almost as large as he was. A moment's glance was sufficient to determine which party was in complete control of the situation.

"This was taken during last year's official ranking matches. At the time, Lester was ranked fifth, the Princess, 17th."

"You mean..."

"Yes, it was the Princess' complete victory. This was her inaugural match as one of the Top Twelve."

"I'm guessing Lester didn't see it that way. And that attitude of his only helps to make it look any more obvious."

"Yeah, in the two following ranking matches, Lester challenged her twice, losing both times."

The official ranking matches were a tournament held monthly to determine the school's best.

Although students were granted the freedom to accept or reject duels as they might, the ability to reject each and every request was counterproductive. In order to prevent students from monopolizing the rankings by simply rejecting all duels, the official ranking match system was put in place. Under this system, when a Page One received a duel request from a lower ranked student, they had to accept the match.

"Challenging any particular opponent to a ranking match can only be done at most twice, forestalling the opportunity for foul play."

"In other words, Lester can no longer challenge Julis in an official ranking match?"

That would explain why he was constantly pestering her for a duel.

"Lester's not just proud, but very passionate as well. He wants to get even, no matter what. That said...I don't think it's possible."

Having thus spoken, Eishirou returned his phone to his pocket.

"What're you thinking?"

"Even given what we've just seen, I don't think winning's impossible."

His compatibility against Julis was certainly poor, but that only made his strength all the more evident. Luck played a factor as well.

"It's just that...they're looking at different things."

"Mm."

Julis' eyes held no trace of Lester's presence.

No, she was gazing afar, at something far out of reach. Ayato had seen this look before and he wasn't surprised to see people like Julis with this type of goal, as no one knew what exactly she was fighting for.

If that truly was the reality of things, then indeed Lester had not the slightest hope of catching up to her.

Ayato remembered the same look in her eyes as she'd fought him.

"Thanks, Yabuki. How much do I owe you?"

Even if Ayato was a special invitee student, with tuition, room, and board all waived, it wasn't like he was flush with cash either. The family dojo, after all, teetered on the edge of ruin. Most of his paychecks from contracts had went towards his parents, while they didn't know it was him, he preferred it that way as he didn't want them to know about his current profession.

He wasn't at the point of needing to work for pocket money, but it was still best to be a little frugal.

"Right then, let's get some grub! Let's go, Amagiri!"

Eishirou's response was to hook his arm around Ayato's neck, and drag him out the door.

"Uwah! W-wait!"

"Our cafeteria has both Japanese and Western cuisines. Which do you prefer?"

"Um, at the moment...Western then..."

"Japanese it is then? Today's dishes are yuan-yaki, agedashi tofu, and daikon and chikuwa stew. Please treat me to the agedashi tofu."

"...Huh?"

"In celebration of your arrival, I'm waiving the fee this time."

Eishirou laughed, patting Ayato on the back with his arm.

"What do you think, I'm pretty easy to get along with, aren't I?"

"I'd normally agree...if you weren't the one saying it."

Ayato gave a small smile, returning the friendly pat on the back. May be his time in this city could do him some good and for once make some friends, but with what the ISD Council told him, having fun was no where near the top of the list

' _Let's hope that they're not dumb enough to attack here_ _...but knowing my luck..._ '

* * *

 **I'm back with another chapter!**

 **And that is all I have to say about this as well as the story will start taking some changes about what's going to happen.**

 **I'll see ya guys later when the next chapter goes up...in like...a few...whatever time I take to type it up.**

 **So bye-bye guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

" _There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything else thereafter._ " - Ernest Hemingway

* * *

 **Nine to Ten years ago**

 _It was an early summer night replete with the fragrance of greenery._

 _That day, a young boy was seated in the corner of a dojo._

 _Basking in the darkness, he wore an expression that spoke of deep displeasure. How long he had spent there, he neither knew nor cared. Budging not an inch, he was lost in thoughts both melancholy and resentful._

 _"Really now! What happened this time? You wouldn't believe how angry Father is!"_

 _The door suddenly swung open, and the moonlight poured through the open frame, accompanied by a soft and gentle voice._

 _"...I didn't do anything wrong."_

 _The boy responded sulkily, turning away from the light._

 _The girl, her silhouette drawn out against the light of the moon, sighed._

 _Sweeping her hair back with her hands, an exasperated expression on her face, she continued to look at the boy. From their appearances, the girl looked to be five, maybe six years older. She wore a short-sleeved sailor uniform, and the lively aura she gave off well suited her._

 _"Ayato."_

 _"But Onee-chan! It was all because that bastard..."_

 _"Ayato!"_

 _Hearing her voice grow sharp, the boy reflexively pulled back._

 _"Uuu.."_

 _The boy swallowed his words as his face tightened and his eyes began to brim with tears._

 _"...But, if you've honestly reflected on things, then I'll hear you out."_

 _"Will you really?" In a flash, the boy's face brightened._

 _"You've genuinely reflected?"_

 _"Yeah, I have!"_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Really!"_

 _"Really truly?"_

 _"Really truly!"_

 _"Really truly honestly?"_

 _"...Onee-chan, didn't you say before that people will hate a girl who repeats things too many times?"_

 _*SLAP*_

 _"...I'm sorry, I'm reflecting now."_

 _"Good."_

 _The girl nodded solemnly._

 _"First things first. Please sit in seiza."_

 _"But I'm already in seiza, Onee-chan."_

 _"...S-sit more properly."_

 _"I've been in seiza this entire time, though, Onee-chan."_

 _The girl coughed slightly and reddened before withdrawing a pair of glasses from the pocket of her uniform._

 _"I think Onee-chan doesn't like to wear glasses because she worries she looks weird with them on."_

 _"S-shut it! That has nothing to do with anything!"_

 _Though those black, horn-rimmed glasses indubitably suited her, the girl still couldn't bring herself to like them._

 _"So...What happened?"_

 _As the topic of conversation turned serious, the boy's attitude did likewise._

 _"Nothing! It was those guys who were bothering me..."_

 _Ayato explained that the other dojo students had constantly mocked him._

 _Their father had sternly warned Ayato not to engage any of the students. Not that that had done much to forestall their contempt for him._

 _Though the students were few in number, they were all members of the Genestella Generation. It was also government policy for those of their generation to be trained in the martial arts, in order to cultivate maturity and discipline with the powers that they possessed over normal human beings._

 _From where the boy stood though, that couldn't be further from the truth._

 _All they wanted was to prove their strength - that they were stronger than him, something that was nearly impossible to do._

 _The law severely punished members of the Genestella Generation, juvenile or otherwise, who engaged in acts of violence against those who were not. For this reason, they'd chosen Ayato, who was a member of the same, as their target._

 _This meant that the boy couldn't fight back and was forced to endure the bullshit from these students._

 _"But those bastards! About Onee-chan, they...!"_

 _The boy bit his lips to stifle his fury._

 _The girl was also a student of their dojo. Having been given strict orders not to get entangled in disputes with the others, Ayato did his best to avoid them altogether, and so their encounters were few. The current students were new, and so they had not as of yet met the girl._

 _Of the fact that the girl's strength surpassed all others, the boy harbored not a shadow of doubt._

 _"And so, that's why I fought them!"_

 _As to the final result of the conflict, the girl did not inquire._

 _"...Hmm."_

 _The girl thought for a moment, before speaking carefully._

 _"I see. Ayato, you really weren't wrong."_

 _"See!"_

 _The boy eagerly looked up._

 _The girl, however, hadn't yet finished speaking._

 _"Unfortunately, you weren't right either."_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Ayato, do you know why Father forbade contact with the others?"_

 _The boy's only response was to lower his head with a grumble._

 _He'd asked their father on times previous, but had never received an answer._

 _"It's because you are strong. But, Ayato, your strength isn't meant for hurting others. If you hurt them, Ayato... the one you're really hurting is yourself."_

 _"But I'm not hurt? I feel fine."_

 _"That's because you aren't yet relying on power."_

 _The girl's voice had taken on a bit of an austere tone._

 _"Until you truly push your strength to its limits, you won't feel the pain. Instead, in recompense, someone else must suffer. Neither Father nor I want to see Ayato become that kind of person."_

 _"To fight to protect one's dignity is a right that everyone has, and thus Ayato, you've done no wrong. However, Ayato, you're still not capable of bearing the burden of loss and victory that come from a duel. Since you thus bear no responsibility, your fight and a true duel are as different as night and day."_

 _"...I don't really get it."_

 _The boy understood that his sister was trying to convey a message of great import, but he still couldn't quite understand the meaning thereof._

 _"Simply put, it's too early for you to be fighting anyone, Ayato."_

 _"Then when can I?"_

 _"Hmm...let's put it this way."_

 _The girl propped a finger against her chin._

 _"If I had to say, then it's when you know what it is you want to accomplish."_

 _"What it is I want to accomplish...?"_

 _"That's right. If that's the case, then you'll be able to decide how and when to use your strength."_

 _"Ok."_

 _Satisfied, the girl nodded and gently rapped the boy's forehead with her fingers._

 _Suddenly, a thought came to the boy's mind, and he spoke._

 _"Onee-chan?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Onee-chan, have you already found 'what it is you want to accomplish'?"_

 _The girl's face wrinkled in displeasure for a brief moment before turning gentle once more._

 _"Of course. The thing I want to do is..."_

 _Stopping for a moment to take the boy into her arms, she continued._

 _"To protect you, Ayato."_

 _"Me...?"_

 _"That's right. To me, you are more important than anything else in this world."_

 _"Then, then I'll protect Onee-chan too! That's 'what it is I want to accomplish'!"_

 _The boy was completely serious. As he was to her, she was to him; a person more precious than any other, someone irreplaceable._

 _The girl smiled mischievously, extending a finger to poke the boy in the forehead._

 _"Ahaha, somebody sure is pretentious. Am I to take that to mean you think you're stronger than me?"_

 _"Uu..."_

 _The girl's strength was, without a doubt, leagues above the boy's own._

 _On this point, the boy was clearer than any other, and so he held his silence._

 _"But more importantly, you need to find that which is more important to you still. Ayato, you're a boy, so that day will surely come."_

 _"...I still don't really get it."_

 _At the boy's somber tone, the girl hugged him tighter still._

 _"For now, this is plenty."_

 _"...Onee-chan?"_

 _"Thank you, Ayato. Thank you for getting mad on my behalf. I love you so much..."_

 **~o0o~**

 **Present Day**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

Ayato awoke from his sleep, after getting enough sleep. Or the amount of sleep he was used to getting, he went to the bathroom to get washed up. After throwing cold water on his face, he reached for the towel and dried his face and brushed the towel aside, and snapped upright like a coiled spring.

Checking the time, it looked to be around four in the morning.

From the window, the dusky light of the sun just before dawn came through.

"...That memory again..."

Before the morning alarm sounded, he turned the clock off, and stretched his stiff body.

He'd had quite the busy day previous, but though thoroughly exhausted, he'd woken at the usual time. Granted, he was used to waking up even before this time to even possibly going a few days without much sleep.

Being a mercenary changed the way he did things and his mind tended to wonder in school as he was used to moving around, making sure no enemy snipers were around, or just plain old fire-fights his team were in.

School just wasn't easy to get back into, and this was proof enough from having to adjust to a schedule as rigid as this one.

"Let's see, I got a few hours to kill before class starts, why don't I go do some training then." Then he started dwelling on the dream he had, or flashback of when he was younger and his older sister was still around.

If that dream had continued...

Ayato shook his head and proceeded to change his clothes.

What he put on, however, was not his uniform, but rather a T-shirt and pair of shorts, better suited for training. He saw his chest was covered in lacerations from knives, burns from fires, and even bullet wounds whenever he got shot.

His body was repeatedly beaten to a bloody pulp, and Ayato continued to stand in defiance of the odds to help his brothers-in-arms live and get the job done. It was the life that he had chosen and he needed to own up to this.

Just as he walked out of the bathroom, he saw a light coming from his belongings. Picking up the wrist communicator that was standard issue for any members of the ISD, and his eyes narrowed seeing who it is.

Answering the call, it revealed a man in his late fifties with black hair and dark grey eyes. One of the Council members of the ISD; Nate McMillan.

" _Good to see you again Mr. Amagiri._ "

Ayato sighed at the name, a name he picked up after an engagement in Sierra Leone back a year or two ago, when the country fell a part from civil war. His team was sent in to support the government forces, and after he was cut off, along with a few units soldiers from the government's army were surrounded by militia forces.

It was nothing short of a bloodbath as he slaughtered over two hundred of the three hundred militia members sent to eliminate them.

Earning the name; The Crimson Ghost as a result. Most of his kills came from the sword that he wields in combat, one that had the ability to cut through any material on the planet, no matter how strong it is considered.

"What can I do for you sir?" Ayato asked the man on the screen.

" _The good news is that your team are a few days from arriving, but the bad news is that our intel is suggesting that there's another organization helping the PLM and as of right now we don't know who it is. Though from what we could tell, there's not much info when it comes to their side of this whole operation. With the PLM, there's been no way to tell what type of troop numbers they have at the moment in region._ "

Hearing the news didn't help the situation that Ayato was in, "So for now, I'm the only soldier in the city for us and with no way to tell what kind of troop or anything that they might be trying to accomplish, doesn't help with the trouble I might be in."

The older man understood the concern that Ayato had at the moment, " _I do know that once your team is in the city, we'll decide on the date for the first initial investigation into where their first attack may come from. But for now, just stay ready and keep an eye out for anything strange._ "

"Yes sir."

After finishing up what little details needed to be covered, the older man hung up and Ayato was left feeling awful about what may happen within the next few weeks. It was something that couldn't be ignored and it was his job to keep the peace, even if it meant having to kill in the end.

' ** _The end justifies the means..._** '

Something that the raven haired teen was all too familiar with.

Shaking those dark thoughts from his mind, he continued with what he was going to do today.

The habit of early morning training was also one that his sister had impressed upon him; he wasn't likely to be so proactive otherwise. His sister, at times stern, at times warm and kind, had raised him in place of their departed mother.

"...Oh, that's why it felt so...familiar..."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in Ayato's brain.

The look in Julis' eyes was identical to his sister. Her eyes had spoken of her desire to 'protect Ayato'.

Those were the eyes of one who possessed an unswerving resolve and firm conviction.

Eyes that Ayato had, as of yet, never had. But after his time fighting for money, survival...it led to him developing lone wolf mentality as he was assigned missions where he needed to complete on his own, something he found to be good at. When it came to working with others, it was the same as he was able to adapt quickly when working with other veterans like those of his team.

In the end, his resolve and firm conviction was about to get the job done and to make sure no one goes home in a body bag. While protecting someone, that was far from his list of concerns at the moment.

"Alright."

Ayato took hold of the Lux he'd left near his pillow, hanging it on his back.

Though he was admittedly more comfortable with the shinai his family had used, given where he was now, foregoing a Lux wasn't an option.

Figuring his classmate was still asleep, he'd planned on taking off without a word, when, to his surprise, a cheerful voice rang out.

"Just what you'd expect from a special invitee student; this early in the morning and already off to train."

Face still showing all the signs of sleep, Eishirou had only one eye open as he spoke, though he showed a toothy smile.

"Sorry if I woke you." Ayato said, but he knew that his roommate was asleep throughout his conversation with his commander and only woke up now. Or maybe, it was out of sheer luck that he didn't wake up.

"No worries. I'm a bit of a light sleeper. That said, I'm just dreaming right now anyway."

Eishirou hugged his pillow as he whispered.

"'cuz, you know, I could have sworn I'd heard someone talking in their sleep just now."

Ayato paled, thinking what may have been said. Even to this day, he was fine physically, but for most who seen combat for any amount of time will face dreams of reliving their time in combat and it happens just about every night for Ayato.

"Uhh..um, Yabuki? You definitely were just imagining things. But just as, you know, a reference...would you mind repeating what you think you heard?"

Though Yabuki's face had turned solemn when he asked him that.

"Some of things I heard...weren't pleasant to hear. I heard a few things that were in English from 'they're everywhere' to 'don't die on me' and some other words were said. But, I saw that you looked to be in pain from what you were dreaming about."

"I..let's say that I have some bad experiences throughout my life...they haven't been easy for me to get over in recent years."

Ayato seemed a little tired after saying that with Eishirou knowing that his friend needed some space, and decided to leave him alone for the rest of the day to get his thoughts together.

"Don't worry about it man, I get that we all have our own skeletons in the closest to deal with."

"Thanks. I suggest you get some sleep before class." The mercenary was glad to have some space after what dream he may have had last night. Though his friend had a completely different idea in mind.

"No problem Ayato. You know, I think you might just be right. Hmm, what should I do...? Oh, by the way, Amagiri, what're your plans for breakfast - Japanese or Western?"

At Eishirou's words, Ayato's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I get it already. Eat whatever you want, my treat."

"Sounds good, yuan-yaki it is!"

It looks like anytime something like this happens, the way to his heart is through his stomach, Ayato thought.

It seemed the moment of crisis had passed; for the moment, anyway.

"Right then, I'm heading back to sleep. Have fun working hard at your training."

"Ha..."

In his estimation, the number of times he'd sighed since entering the school had increased exponentially.

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 4: Reunion**

 **Homeroom, Seidoukan Academy**

"A~ah. So tired...Morning, everyone."

Stretching lazily, Eishirou pulled open the door to their classroom. He then proceeded to summarily pass out on his desk; it seemed he really hadn't gotten enough sleep after he woke him up at four in the morning.

Ayato could only stare in amazement at Eishirou, his face flat against his desk. The classroom was filled with the air of lively chatter, a scene you'd find in any school.

Attendance was surprisingly good; it seemed the students at this school were of a rather sober nature. Turning around, the raven haired teen saw Julis walking to her desk next to him, and with her early on being cold towards him, she never tended to say anything towards.

Until now that was.

"Morning, Julis."

"...Morning."

Ayato greeted his neighbor, who, cheek resting on her hand, greeted him in turn.

In an instant, the previously noisy classroom was filled with silence.

"Hey, did you just hear that...?"

"...Th, the Princess greeted someone...?"

"Are we hearing things...?"

"Just what kind of black magic did that guy use...?"

"Rather, that can't be the real Princess, can it?"

Seeing the uproar which had taken a hold of their class, Julis slammed her hands on her desk and rose.

"Y-you all sure are rude! I was just returning his greeting!"

In spite of Julis' sullen expression, the clamor didn't lessen one bit.

This was way beyond expectation.

Their classmates' reaction made plain just what kind of classmate Julis typically was.

' _Maybe this is a rare opportunity to try and get along with everyone?_ '

Thinking on Julis' behalf, Ayato reminded himself that this was only his second day at this academy. It was all well and good to worry over Julis, but honestly, he needed to worry about himself first with what was going to happen in the next few weeks.

Changes were coming, and whether the people of Asterisk City liked it or not.

At that moment, Ayato realized that the seat on his left, which had been empty the day before, was now filled.

There a young girl with beautiful blue hair lay on her desk, fast asleep. Wondering who this girl was, Ayato considered greeting the girl that was currently asleep on her desk.

It seemed unlikely that she was like himself, who'd transferred over just recently. She'd probably just taken the day off.

Though he thought that he'd best greet her as well, she gave no hint of waking anytime soon.

As he considered his options, the girl suddenly lifted her head. Possibly waking up from her sleep as class was about to begin in the next few minutes from now.

Nice, here came opportunity, knocking at the door.

"Huh, I see you were asleep so morning to ya. I transferred here just yesterday; I'm Amagiri-"

Ayato's introduction came to a screeching halt.

Catching a glimpse of the girl's face, he froze.

"S-Saya...? Is that...really you?"

The girl looked on expressionlessly, before at last tilting her head slightly.

"...Ayato?"

There was no doubt about it. She was Sasamiya Saya.

Ayato simply scratched his head in utter confusion as he never expected to see his friend from long ago, attending this school. From behind, two eyes fairly gleamed with the delight of a small child given a new toy.

'Why the hell do I feel like Yabuki is staring at this like meat?'

The girl looked on expressionlessly, before at last tilting her head slightly.

"What's this, what's this? You two know each other?"

"Ah, yeah. We used to be friends, or rather, we're childhood friends."

"Childhood friends...?" Eishirou asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Then why didn't you know she was a student here?"

"Well, even if I say we're childhood friends, ever since Saya moved abroad six years ago, we haven't kept in touch. Besides, I haven't been in touch with many people that I used to know from long ago."

"Ho~, so that's why there's been no response from that side."

To be sure, even after recognizing Ayato, Saya's expression has barely changed.

"Hmm, how do I put this, the feeling's pretty much the same, so I was rather surprised really."

"Really?"

"...Yeah, really."

"...I sure didn't see anything that looked like surprise."

Saya's 'reaction' hadn't even extended to the raising of her eyebrows, prompting Eishirou's question.

"But still, it sure has been a long time. Everything good?" Saya suddenly asked.

"You know, you sure haven't changed one bit, Saya."

Saya vigorously shook her head from left to right.

"...No way. I've grown a bit taller."

"I see that pretty clearly..."

Still surprised at their sudden reunion, Ayato sized up his childhood friend.

Her eyes were rather large, to the point that the rest of her face didn't leave much of an impression. Her height didn't appear to differ in the least from when they'd parted, and would have been more appropriate for a student in elementary, rather than high school. Her expression didn't seem to change much either. She looked, for lack of a better word, like a emotionless doll than anything.

"You really do look the same..."

"Wrong. It's that you've grown too much."

Saya puffed up her cheeks sulkily.

"...Don't worry about it, though. I've already decided that I'm going to grow as tall as you by next year, so if you just grow a little, we'll make quite the pair," Saya mumbled to herself.

Unfortunately, whatever her thoughts on the matter, closing a gap of 30 centimeters in a year seemed unlikely, if not impossible. While Ayato's hearing managed to pick up on what Saya said to herself, and for the raven haired mercenary, a relationship with his childhood friend was something he didn't want.

Saya, in his mind, could never be anything more than a friend in his book. Sighing, he listened back to the conversation that Eishirou's conversation with Saya.

"It sure is a small world, or maybe we should call this a fated reunion?"

"Fated reunion...Mm. You've said something good, Yabuki."

Saya gave him a thumbs-up.

This way of praising others was, similarly, unchanged from before. For Ayato, almost, if not everything about her didn't change at all. From the few memories Ayato could still remember about his friend, she never did show much emotions.

He quickly remembered something and it was about her father, a man that had moved his family abroad a few years ago.

"Speaking of which, how's your dad doing?"

Saya's father was a meteoric engineering researcher, specializing in the development of Lux weapons. The reason the Sasamiya family had left the country six years prior was because of his career as well as other reasons unclear to this day.

"...In good health, although I wish he'd be a bit more dignified about things."

"Haha, it sounds like he's the same as always then."

Ayato's impression of Saya's father could be summed up in two words: mad scientist.

He remembered even now the uproarious laughter which had filled the Sasamiya household during his past visits.

From what he'd heard, her father was well-regarded in his field, although due to his difficult personality, he'd had to change jobs with fair frequency. This almost never happened in the ISD as most soldiers had to learn to fight, live, and trust people with different personalities.

"I came here because Dad wanted me to."

"He did?"

Saya reached out and unholstered her Lux from her uniform.

Activating it, a large gun appeared. From the smoothness of her actions, Ayato could tell how much time she'd spent with it. He figured out early on when they were kids was that she loved working with the fire-arms her father created and didn't hesitate to use them.

The same could be said about Ayato, but he tended to work with normal fire-arms that the ISD had access to.

"In order to spread the word of Dad's creations."

"Spreading the word, I see..."

Although hardly to the point of being a danger to one's life, Asterisk could hardly be called a safe place. To send his daughter here solely for the sake of spreading the word of his inventions; Ayato found he couldn't approve of his actions.

But, with what he's been up to the last few years, the same could be said about himself as he was putting himself in danger. In places, where death was simply waiting in the form of an enemy sniper, mine, or even mother nature herself.

Asterisk was a dangerous place, that much was true, but compared to the rest of world...

Nothing short of hell itself...

"It doesn't seem like that decision was just made on a whim. This place is quite well-known, and the potential results you'd see from making things known here are without any whatsoever limit. That is, after all, at least part of the reason the Integrated Enterprise Foundation created this city in the first place," Eishirou cut in to say.

"Are you fine with that, Saya?"

"I have my own reasons for accepting, don't worry," Saya responded, to alleviate Ayato's concerns.

"Hmm, and what reason would that be?"

Eishirou had shifted into reporter mode, with a notepad in one hand and a serious expression on his face.

"That's a secret," Saya said, glancing at Ayato. Said teen caught notice of her glance at him, making him sigh internally as he would have to eventually tell Saya that he doesn't, as well as never, able to picture her in relationship with him.

It felt wrong to him if he started dating her, and his job was something of concern that any girl would have for Ayato.

"Although half of that reason is already..."

"Hoho~"

Eishirou seemed to have been clued in on something by those words.

"That reminds me, when you first joined the school Sasamiya, you made a request to leave Asterisk. How'd that go?"

Though Asterisk was physically located on Japanese soil, it was legally sovereign land. As such, one who wished to leave the city first had to make a proper request through their school. Granted, security was increased after the reported attacks in the Middle East as well as Africa in recent months.

Causing the city council to tighten on the number of people allowed to enter and leave the city.

For Ayato, because of his status as a member of the ISD's special forces, he was allowed to leave and enter freely and with the city being told his team's investigation about an attack that they discovered back a few months ago; resulting in Ayato's admission into this academy.

"...I haven't gotten permission yet. What about it?"

"Nothing~ It's just that, if I'm not wrong, that request to leave no longer needs to be granted-"

Eishirou's devilish grin was stopped short, as he suddenly closed his mouth in a hurry.

The reason? It was likely a reaction to the barrel of Saya's gun, now leveled at his throat.

"...Let's not say anything unnecessary, alright?"

"Alright~ I understand. I'm sorry. My bad."

With the gun aimed straight at him, Eishirou could only raise his arms in surrender.

"I really have no idea what's going on, but I should point out that, despite her appearance, Saya has something of a temper. It'd be best not to anger her." The raven haired mercenary added some things into the conversation.

"You should have said that sooner."

All the students heard the door to the class open, as the teacher soon walked in.

"Hurry back to your seats, homeroom's starting."

Kyouko greeted the class as she walked in with a sleepy look on her face.

She dragged her bat with the suspicious history across the floor, evoking an ear-piercing screech which filled the students with an unnamed fear.

"You over there, the classroom's no place to be waving around your weapon - Wait, aren't you Sasamiya?"

"...Good morning."

"Why didn't you come to class yesterday? You better have a good reason for not showing up yesterday."

Kyouko stomped over to stand rudely in Saya's face, folding her arms as she awaited a response.

"...I overslept."

"Hahaha! So you overslept, is that all?"

 ***thump***

"...it hurts..."

"You idiot! How many times is this now? You're going to make up those classes on your next break."

Having been struck on the head, Saya's expression was, for the most part unchanged. From the corners of her eyes, however, tears began to form.

"Ha...It seems you're still bad with mornings."

"...My blanket's too cozy; I can't help it."

As Ayato and Saya chatted, Julis, in the seat next over, idly observed their antics.

After class, that same day.

"...Hmm, something like this, I guess?"

Julis mumbled to herself as she double-checked her appearance in the restroom mirror.

The reflection staring back at her was beautiful, with hair that she wasn't all that fond of, and an immaculate uniform.

Maybe she was being oversensitive, but the state of her dress was a matter of proper etiquette. If her attire wasn't all in order, then she couldn't calm down. If that person hadn't made such comments before, then she wouldn't be paying such careful attention to this. Yeah, that was the case.

Telling herself this, Julis exited the bathroom and returned to the classroom.

Though there weren't any other students left, Ayato remained in his normal seat, conversing and laughing with Saya.

Since this was their joyful reunion after having been parted for some number of years, this kind of joyful conversation was to be expected.

Despite understanding this in her mind, for some reason, Julis' heart just wouldn't calm down.

"So, um, are you ready to go?"

"Oh, Julis. Yeah I'm ready as I can be, so lead the way princess."

"I-It can't be helped. A promise is a promise."

Julis deliberately turned away, although she continued to watch Ayato out of the corner of her eye.

Outwardly, she wore an unhurried expression which radiated calm.

But inside, as she remembered the earnest look in his eyes as he'd saved her, her heart was a raging storm.

Her heart seemed to tie itself into knots as she struggled to understand what she felt. She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"...Promise?"

Overhearing their words, Saya asked in surprise.

"I'd asked Julis to show me around campus."

"Riessfeld? Why?"

"Well, it's complicated. Either way, it has nothing to do with you, Sasamiya."

"...grr-"

Saya frowned unhappily.

"Let's go."

"Alright. See you tomorrow Saya."

"...Wait just a moment. If that's all he needs, then I'll be the one to show him around."

"What!?"

"Huh?"

This abrupt declaration left both Ayato and Julis speechless.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to decline that offer. I refuse to back out on a promise."

"...Given how little you seem to want to show Ayato around, it seems best that I do so instead."

"W-who said anything about not wanting to show him around?! For starters, Sasamiya, you've only been a student here for a year. In comparison, I've been here since junior high. Which one of us is more appropriate should be obvious."

Sparks seemed to fly between the two of them.

"Um, listen here you two..."

Although Ayato tried to calm things down, neither party paid him the slightest bit of attention.

"Oh, well if that's how we're judging things, then I'm clearly the most suited for the job."

"Wha...!?"

Having appeared at some unknown point in time, Claudia spoke, as she stuck her head out from behind Ayato.

She held Ayato in her arms, her breasts pressed directly against his back.

At the sight of this scene, Julis and Saya's expressions grew more horrifying yet.

"Julis only transferred here in her third year of junior high. I started here."

"...Who're you?"

"What're you doing here?"

"Actually, strike that. Get out of here, Claudia!"

"Oh my. How terribly cold. It's such a rare opportunity, why don't I join in?"

"...No thanks."

"I decline."

"Alas, how unfortunate. Well then, there's the matter of the task for which I came. Everyone else, please stand back."

Claudia looked quite disappointed as she left her position on Ayato's back, instead handing him a file.

"Your appointment for Ogre Lux selection and compatibility testing has been determined. It will take place tomorrow. Please read over this document, and if you agree, sign here."

"Oh, that."

Although the appointment's date of the following day was rather sudden, it was a good opportunity to verify for himself whether or not the Ogre Lux in question had really been used by his sister. An opportunity he couldn't afford to pass up.

"I understand. That said, there's quite a lot here."

The document was over ten pages in length, with each page densely packed with words.

"What you're dealing with is Integrated Enterprise Foundation property, after all. Even if it's all just a formality, the preceding requirements process is looooong."

"The student council president herself is hand-delivering paperwork; it almost makes one think how leisurely the student council must be."

"Yep. This way we can ensure that all of our students are growing up to be good boys and girls."

Claudia cleverly dealt with Julis' sarcasm.

"...Claudia and Julis are good friends?"

"Just so."

"One hundred percent wrong."

At the simultaneous, yet completely contrasting answers, Ayato tilted his head in confusion.

"My, how terribly distant."

"We met a few times at the Wiener Opernball. That's it. End of story."

The Wiener Opernball is Europe's largest opera ball. It's an annual Austrian society event which takes place in the building of the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria on the Thursday preceding Ash Wednesday

For the young ladies of the upper crust, it presents a singular opportunity for social contact with one another. While Ayato didn't grow up dirt poor, but with his recent time spent fighting through some of the harshest terrain imaginable. Add in the die-hard soldiers that Ayato has killed over the years, means that upper-class families were just too alien for him. Or any normal life seemed strange to him.

"Now that your task is complete, please leave."

"...Shoo, shoo."

"I wish everyone a delightful day. Since I will monopolize Ayato for all of tomorrow, allow me to first apologize to everyone."

Claudia curtsied, and left. Julis and Saya stared daggers at her back until it disappeared into the distance.

"I can't stand that fox! Just because her breasts are a little bit big, she thinks she can do whatever she wants...It's just useless fat anyway!"

"...I agree."

Saya nodded her agreement of Julis' words. On the other hand, Ayato and Eishirou were wondering why these two were simply complaining about this, and why in front of the classroom full of both male and female students alike.

' _I'll never understand girls..._ '

Those were the thoughts that both guys had.

The former atmosphere of mutual hostility seemed like an illusion, giving way instead to mutual agreement.

"It's a pretty rare occasion, why don't the two of you show me around together? Just to end this stupid dispute."

Hoping to preserve the good atmosphere, Ayato proposed a compromise. One that he hoped would work, but his luck would determine that.

"The two of us...?"

Julis and Saya stared at one another for a moment, before giving a grudging, wry smile.

"...I understand."

"Fine. Continuing to argue would just be a waste of time."

"Hah..."

Ayato wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his expression revealing his deep-seated relief.

 **~o0o~**

 **Later that day**

And thus their party of three made their way around campus...

"This is the club building. While it's true that our school doesn't really have club activities, given the slightest hint of an interesting occurrence, you can be sure the Newspaper Club will be there, regardless of where it may be."

"...Nn, nn."

Soon Julis showed another building that seemed to be full of glass windows with people walking in and out of the building.

"This is the student union office. All matters concerning student welfare, appeals, etc. must pass through here."

"...I see."

"As for food services, I won't show you those right now. The school has seven cafeterias on the grounds, including a buffet. There's plenty of space underground, so it's being used in a variety of ways."

"...That's the first I've heard of it."

"Sasamiya, are you sure you don't need me to show you around as well?" Julis asked, as they stopped for a break in the central area.

"...What can I say? I'm bad with directions."

"And yet you volunteered to show others around?"

"Hehe."

"That wasn't a compliment."

"It's fine, isn't it? I've really learned a lot, thanks," Ayato said, languidly smiling as usual.

"I-if that's the case, then that's good."

"By the way, would you like something to drink? My treat."

"Red tea, if you would."

"...Apple juice, but not the kind that's made from concentrate."

"Got it."

Ayato walked around the large fountain, headed toward the high school building.

The vending machines in the junior high building were actually quite a bit closer to their current location, something Julis had just shared with him.

Julis considered that for a brief moment before laughing.

"...Riessfeld, let me ask you once more," Saya suddenly asked.

"What's up?"

"Why are you showing Ayato around?"

"You sure don't give up, do you? Forget it, I'll answer. I owe him a debt. That's why."

"A debt?"

Saya's question stopped Julis dead in her tracks, but she nonetheless answered openly.

"...Because in the middle of our duel, he helped me."

"A duel? Between Ayato and you?"

"That's right. You hadn't heard?"

Battles involving the Top Twelve were always a topic of discussion, and yesterday's duel was no exception.

It seemed this classmate of hers wasn't interested in the rankings.

"That's the most I'll say. Anything beyond that is private."

"...And the result?"

"Someone interfered during the middle of our fight. We never settled the matter."

"...That's weird."

"What is?"

"You fought with Ayato. There's no way you'd come out of it unharmed."

Julis found this utterly shocking statement unsurprisingly hard to swallow.

She considered for a moment that it might be a joke, but any chances of that were dispelled by the serious look in Saya's eyes.

"That's a rather rude estimation of my ability, don't you think?"

"...You are strong. I know that very well," Saya answered.

Saya's tone implied that such a thing was simple fact, which filled Julis with a strange, unsettling emotion.

"It's just that, at most, you're only around my level. That's nowhere near enough to be Ayato's opponent."

"Ho. Someone's talking pretty big."

The atmosphere grew tense.

As far as Julis knew, Saya's name was not to be found in the Named Charts. Moreover, Saya was clearly aware of her classmate's formidable reputation.

Although it wasn't like she intentionally kept her distance from others, but Saya hadn't participated in the ranking matches at all.

It went without saying that the ranking matches weren't the be-all, end-all of things; Julis herself had said as much to Ayato just earlier. There were those who hated to stand out, and purposely kept a low profile until the Festa itself.

That said, there was no way Julis was just going to let that comment stand.

"Why don't we test that confidence of yours?"

Saya rose, and silently created some distance between herself and Julis.

Taking Saya's actions as acceptance, Julis stood, and pulled out her school badge.

"I, Julis Alexia van Riessfeld challenge Sasamiya Saya to a duel."

Her words finished, Julis reflexively jumped aside.

At nearly the same moment, the bench gave out a groan as it was pierced by several arrows in succession.

The attack had come from the direction of the fountain square, and thus couldn't have come from Saya.

"The fountain!?"

Having entered the water at some unknown point, a black-garbed assassin appeared, their lower body still submerged beneath the water, a bow-type Lux in hand.

"Ugh, another ambush, is it?"

In all likelihood, the perpetrator was the same as from the previous incident.

Laughing mockingly, Julis gathered her Prana, and called forth her flames.

"Bloom proudly - Longiflorum White Firebloom of the Keen Lance!"

Appearing out of thin air, the flame lance was released immediately upon contact with the ground.

This perfectly-timed counterattack failed to either pierce or set aflame its intended target, and was instead blocked by a newly-appearing black shadow.

"There's one more than last time... and more than that, it's someone capable of actually holding off my flames."

The shadow who'd suddenly interfered in their battle was similarly clothed in black, and was using a large axe, requiring a two-handed grip, as a shield.

Although their manner of dress was utterly lacking in taste, it clearly denoted their role as partners. The still half-submerged attacker was slightly overweight, while his comrade was of rather large stature, nearly two meters in height.

She had no recollection of either that physique or that equipment, but this was hardly the time to be worried about something like that. Though neither of her opponents gave off much of a presence, they weren't likely opponents she could take lightly. Any questions she had could wait until she'd defeated them, and could beat the answers out of them.

Julis once again began to gather Prana, at which time...

"...~boom!~"

Accompanied by a deep rumble which shook the ground, the large assailant was thrown into the air.

He flew several dozen meters before finally impacting the ground with a vicious thump.

Initial shock aside, it seemed the impact had left him unable to move.

"...What?"

As the storm passed, Julis looked in the direction the attack had come from. There Saya stood holding a gun larger than her own body.

From the way things looked, Julis had a hard time deciding if Saya was holding that gigantic firearm up, or if it was holding her down.

"...What's that?"

"Thirty-eighth form, Lux-style grenade launcher - Helnekrom."

"When you say grenade launcher...you mean that thing shoots grenades?"

Saya nodded lightly, before absent-mindedly taking aim at the fountain.

"...Burst."

The firearm began to glow.

Prana massed in an instant, focused at the tip of the gun barrel. The light of its mana dite began to grow.

In other words...

"Meteor Arts!"

The chunkier assassin jumped out of the water and made a break for it, but it was already too late.

Thirty-eighth form, Lux-style grenade launcher - Helnekrom.

"...~BOOM~"

Attended by an almost comical sound, the light burst forth, splitting the ground as it landed.

Their ears were assaulted by the booming roar of the explosion, which blew the fountain into dust.

Water poured out of the only part left standing, spilling over in all directions.

The scope of the explosion was on an entirely different level from Julis' own 'Six-Petal Burst Firebloom'. Its destructive capabilities were far closer to that of military armament.

"You're rather more extreme than you look."

"...Like you have room to talk."

Julis was struck dumb at her reply.

"I'm not going to thank you. I could have taken care of myself."

Though she faced a two-on-one confrontation, Julis had no doubt of her inevitable victory.

"Don't thank me. I only did that because they got in the way."

Saya continued in that monotone of hers, raising her head to catch Julis' eye.

"...Do you want to continue?"

Julis was confused for a moment until she realized Saya was referring to their duel. By now, however, that impulse had fled.

"No, that's not necessary. Your strength is real. I apologize for my disrespect earlier."

"...That's good."

Saya released her weapon.

This was just Julis' opinion, but the girl in front of her was undoubtedly a little odd.

"Alright, let's grab these two and hand them over to the disciplinary committee."

Almost as if they'd read her mind, the two assailants chose that moment to disappear into the forest.

There was no hint of the tall and large male from earlier.

"Well, they definitely seem healthy enough."

"...I'm amazed."

It seemed the two had managed to evade the powerful attack from just now. Normally speaking, one wouldn't be able to move an inch after something like that...

"Whatever. If we were to just blindly follow after them, it's likely we'd fall for a trap. On another note, Sasamiya, you just blasted school property into smithereens. Make sure you follow all procedures for cleanup, alright?"

"...Why me?"

"Because you were the one who blew up the fountain, of course."

"...Too much of a hassle. I leave things in your capable hands."

"What do you mean you're leaving it to me? Who do you think you're kidding here?"

"He~y!"

In the middle of their game of irresponsibility-hot potato, Ayato returned from the high school building.

"What the hell is going on here? I just...heard an explosion and...oh my god..."

Ayato didn't seem surprised at the desolate scene before him. Both Saya and Julis saw his eyes simply glaze over for a split second before he focused back onto the present, it looked as if he was remembering something from before.

The most concerning part was a twitch in his eye that effectively gave away that it was something painful.

"Are you okay Ayato?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "I'm fine, just...some things popped up in my head. Nothing to worry about. So anybody gonna tell me what happened here?"

"Some stuff happened, right, Sasamiya?"

Too much had happened to make it worth explaining in detail.

"I'm still a little confused, but...huh...if I were you, take a look at yourself."

Ayato, who had been guardedly glancing around until now, suddenly his tone changed from being serious to some mirth, casting his glance aside in the opposite direction. His actions perplexed Julis for a moment's length before she suddenly understood.

The destroyed fountain was spraying water all over this area, which naturally included Saya and herself. Their clothes were thoroughly soaked. Since they were wearing the thinner, lighter fabric that went with the summer uniform, the cloth adhered tightly to their forms.

Their curves showed clearly through.

Double-checking, the stripes on her underwear were clearly visible.

"Wha, wai-! D, don't look! If you look, I'll kill you!"

"Don't have to tell me twice, I'm not even looking at you to begin with..." His answer seemed to have calm down Julis until she saw the state in which her clothes were in, and tried her best to cover herself up.

"...Our clothes are all see-through. How scandalous."

"S-Sayamiya! Cover yourself! Wait, your underwear...?"

Julis looked over at Saya, whose clothes similarly stuck to her body. What she saw, however, left her stunned.

Even if their clothes were both soaked through, there was one stark difference.

"...It's rather unfortunate, but it's not necessary for me yet."

At Saya's unconcerned tone, Julis gripped her head in frustration. While Ayato on the other some chuckling could be heard, both girls figured he was laughing at what Saya had said, or rather the lack of emotion to it, made it all the more humorous.

"Hurry up and find something to cover her with! NOW!"

"Alright! Jeez woman, you don't have to bark at me. I could just my uniform jacket."

Given the destruction of the fountain and the insatiable appetite for gossip of their school's students, they were certain to appear at any moment.

Both saw Ayato take off his uniform jacket, leaving him in black sweater. This allowed for both girls to see the athletic frame he had. Julis already suspected this, but seeing how Ayato must trained a lot in order to become strong and quick enough to dodge her attacks.

' _But, I wonder..._ '

Julis was still concerned about what happened earlier as he saw the area of the park, almost like he's seen something akin to that...

Like this was something he's seen often...

* * *

 **I'm done with chapter...**

 **Time for the next one!**

 **Well I got to see a Warriors-OKC game tonight! So I'll try to write...but no promises.**


	5. Chapter 5

" _It is well that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it._ " - Robert E. Lee

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

 **April 30th, 2025**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

Ayato made his way to the student council room in preparation for his Ogre Lux compatibility testing.

"Looks like things were rather difficult on you yesterday, Ayato."

The matter regarding yesterday's ambush on Julis had been reported to the disciplinary committee.

It was hardly surprising that the news had reached Claudia as well. With her sources making sure she was up to date on the latest information around the school, and this was just an example of how even some intelligence agencies like the CIA or KGB aren't this quick with information.

Although the incident had found its way online as; ' _Julis defeats mysterious attackers_ '. Saya's name had been left out, like they always do. It looked like the media didn't care for those who weren't members of the Top Twelve.

That was really only to be expected, though.

"How's the investigation? Have the perpetrators been apprehended?"

"...To be honest, that's going to be difficult. The disciplinary committee's already investigated the matter quite thoroughly, but the other party seems to have been careful enough not to have left any evidence behind."

"Even if this is Asterisk... Yesterday's actions have clearly passed into the realm of criminal activity. Normally speaking, wouldn't we just hand things over to the police?"

The disciplinary committee was still a student-run organization, after all.

When their investigative abilities were compared to the actual police, they were, unsurprisingly, decidedly lacking in that area compared to what Ayato has seen.

"That's something of a problem as well. Asterisk's police force, the Star Hunter Guard, can be a little high-handed. But after we received news of the ISD sending in some of their mercenaries on the request of the city council."

She continued on with her explanation as to why the city police force didn't tend to work on cases surrounding the academies.

"Although they wield executive authority in Asterisk, that jurisdiction does not normally extend to school grounds - on this point, all of the six schools are in agreement. Failing some large violation of the law, they may not intrude upon a school's autonomy."

The view of the schools was equivalent to the Integrated Enterprise Foundation's own. This was common sense in Asterisk.

Accordingly, until given express permission by a school, the Star Hunter Guard would not enter school premises until they were told to do so.

"Precluding extraordinary circumstance...We too, would prefer not to see them involved either."

"In order to avoid drawing unwanted suspicion?"

"An investigation would be rather inconvenient indeed," Claudia confessed openly.

"Although, personally, I would like nothing more than to hand this over to the police... This decision is above my pay-grade, however. I just wish there was something more I could do for Julis..."

"Honestly, why is that girl so stubborn?"

She'd reported the incident to the disciplinary committee, but had refused all concern over her well-being.

Even the bodyguards that the disciplinary committee had offered her had been turned down, with the reason being that she hadn't wanted any bodyguard who was ' _weaker than herself_ '. Something that Ayato expected out of the girl.

"In order to protect those things that are important to her, she'll go all out. When something new presents itself, she worries about losing all that she's already gained."

"The things that are important to her...?"

"Forget about it. It has nothing to do with the matter at hand, anyway. No matter how I look at it, I really can't just leave her be. Maybe I should try talking to her..."

At this moment a hurried knock on the door sounded.

"...My apologies, I'd forgotten there was another guest today besides yourself. Let's continue this conversation at a later time."

Claudia opened the door remotely via the console beside her, and in walked a most unexpected individual.

The other party, catching sight of Ayato, was no less shocked.

"Requests to use Ogre Lux weapons require a nightmarish amount of paperwork. If at all possible, it's best to do it all in one go. Right then, allow me to introduce you. This is..."

Claudia, smiling, began an unneeded introduction.

The simple reason being that those newly entering the room were none other than Lester and his two flunkies.

Startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, Claudia tilted her head in puzzlement.

"It seems you've already been introduced?"

"You could say that."

"W-why are you here?"

The plump yes-man, Landy, pointed at Ayato, stunned. Lester also cast a suspicious glance in his direction before quickly looking away.

"Oh, yes. We know each other."

The skinnier follower, Cyrus, nodded his head over and over.

"Let's hurry it up. I'd like to avoid wasting my time."

"How very rushed. In any case, it's true that time is precious. Please follow me."

Saying this, Claudia rose, and led them out of the student council room.

As they entered the hallway, Ayato raised a question which had just occurred to him.

"So what exactly are we about to do?"

"The process is simple. We test your compatibility with the Ogre Lux you select, and if it's greater than eighty percent, you can borrow it."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

That seemed rather straightforward.

"You really are stupid, aren't you? In practice, borrowing an Ogre Lux is nowhere near that simple."

Walking beside Ayato, Lester spoke in a tone brimming with scorn.

"If that's all there was to it, then everyone would be trying, after all. No, you have to either be a Page One or an active participant in the Festa; that is to say, only the cream of the crop are even given the opportunity to try. If you don't fall into the above category, then regardless of whether or not your compatibility rating passes eighty percent - it may as well be zero percent - it's not going to happen. As for whether this brat has the qualifications... I'm rather doubtful."

A high compatibility rating was the minimum requirement to draw out the abilities of an Ogre Lux. Unlike a Lux, which anyone could use, the powers of an Ogre Lux were of an entirely different level.

Ulm Mana Dites possessed an exceedingly high level of purity for a Mana Dite, and moreover, were capable of feats normally only possible for the Strega and Dante.

Simply speaking when it came to an Ogre Lux, the reason for the compatibility test was straightforward. The importance of one's fundamental compatibility numbers, a value wholly independent of the level of effort exerted, couldn't be underestimated.

"Wow, as expected of someone trying for their third time. That was definitely very persuasive."

Lester's smug look disappeared in an instant at Claudia's words, replaced by an expression of twisted rage.

"Hmph! This time I'll succeed!"

"That's right, Lester! You've just had bad luck up 'til now. Third time's the charm for sure!"

"You know it."

Landy's unabashed brown-nosing allowed Lester's mood to recover.

"Is a student allowed to try as many times as they want?"

"As long as they receive permission, yes. From the school's point of view, there's little point in letting one of their precious treasures be wasted on someone who can't use it properly. So yes, Top Twelve aside, the screening process is indeed quite intense."

So that's how it was. No wonder this was a privilege.

"It's not like the Top Twelve are without restriction either, though. If they can't meet the minimum requirements, then they will not be granted permission either."

They finally arrived at their destination, the subterranean equipment division located underneath the high school building.

As Asterisk was an artificial-island, their current location was technically underwater, and so there were no windows to view the endless amount of water surrounding the city. While Ayato was perfectly fine being in water, it wasn't easy due to the ISD's intense training in order to operate underwater.

Ayato watched on in curiosity as the white-coated workers bustled back and forth.

"P-pardon. I-I must apologize for just now."

Suddenly a voice came from behind.

Ayato turned to see Cyrus, a self-effacing smile on his face.

"Lester isn't a bad person... it's just that he can be a bit rough around the edges..."

Cyrus spoke with his head bowed.

"Oh, don't worry about it. There's no need for that."

"Because Landy has a similar personality, so they sometimes get a little out of control due to their emotions. For what the two said the day before yesterday, I apologize."

"Oi, Cyrus! Stop wasting time!"

"R-Right! I'll be right there!"

Lester roared at them from his position in the lead.

Cyrus again bowed his head, and raced to meet him.

It looked like in their group dynamic, Lester stood at the top and Cyrus at the bottom.

"Hah..."

Riding the elevator within to the lowest level, Ayato stepped out into what appeared to be a vast training room with a high ceiling.

At one end were innumerable hexagonal patterns placed side-by-side, while the opposing end was made of glass, revealing a flurry of busy workers within, likely students of the equipment division. Landy and Cyrus were waiting on the other side.

"I'll go first. Is that fine?"

"I don't mind; how about you, Ayato?"

"No problem at all. Go right on ahead."

As far as Ayato was concerned, verifying the existence of the Ogre Lux his sister had perhaps used was his only reason for coming. Nothing else mattered.

Lester displayed his experience, proficiently manipulating the computer in the corner by the wall laden with hexagonal patterns. As a colossal space window appeared, his face took on a serious expression.

"What's that?"

"It's a summary of all the Ogre Lux weapons that our school is in possession of. We currently have 22 of them - the most of any of the six schools."

"Oh."

"Besides simply the name and appearance of each Ogre Lux, the index also records their special abilities; all the data a potential user might be interested in. Those whose names appear in gray are those which have already been lent out."

"I see."

Ayato counted the number of gray entries.

"There are currently seven Seidoukan students using an Ogre Lux, four of which are in the Top Twelve."

In other words, a full third of the current Top Twelve were Ogre Lux wielders. This made it quite clear just what kind of weapons they were.

"Alright, this one then."

At that moment, one of the hexagonal patterns lit up, slid over to Lester's position, emitted a low sound, and protruded forth from the wall.

It seemed to be the mechanism employed for Ogre Lux storage and delivery.

"Heh, what a pointless appearance."

"Pointless...?"

Claudia's words would probably sadden the designer.

"Hmm, strange...?"

Claudia's eyes opened wide in surprise.

"Mr. McPhail, you've selected the Ser-Versta _(Demon Sword of the Black Furnace)_. Not again..."

"Demon Sword of the Black Furnace?"

"Indeed. 'Disintegrating all that it touches, when it pierces, the world shall turn to purgatory'. This was once an Ogre Lux most feared by the other schools."

"...Sounds like quite the weapon."

"Whatever its reputation, only a contractor can draw out its supernatural strength. There's something else you should know about it, though."

Claudia gave a bitter smile.

"That's the weapon whose records have been altered."

Lester removed the activation body from within, carrying it with him to the center of the room, where he turned to face the window. Ayato couldn't help but stare at the weapon in his hand.

"So that's it...the Ogre Lux that my sister may once have wielded."

The outward appearance of its activation body was nothing special. The only point worthy of note was the abnormal color of its Ulm Mana Dite. Lux Mana Dites were all of a uniform color, green, but Ulm Mana Dite came in a variety of colors. The Ulm Mana Dite of the Ogre Lux in Lester's hand, for example, radiated with a brilliant scarlet light.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Lester activated the weapon, and it slowly began to materialize. Gradually manifesting itself, before long, its hilt appeared in its entirety, from which sprang forth a blade of light.

Seemingly running contradictory to its naming, the Demon Sword of the Black Furnace was armed with a blade of white light. Furthermore, it wasn't simply a bladed edge, but rather an enormous blade of light.

As Ayato watched the blade form, his heart began to pound. He felt as though he were witnessing the birth of an unprecedented monster, and his senses tingled.

The feeling lasted but a moment, however, and was gone.

' _What the hell was that...?_ ' Ayato pondered, before being broken out of his reverie by the sounding of the intercom.

 **(Compatibility testing is ready to go. Please begin.)**

With permission to begin, Lester gripped Ser-Versta tightly, and loosed a primal roar.

"Uuoooooooooh!"

Ayato could feel Prana gathering, but Ser-Versta evidenced no change.

 **(Current compatibility is 32%)**

The announcement caused the expression on Lester's face to change.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON MEEEEEEEEE!"

The muscles on his arm rippled and he bit down on his lips, displaying forth an iron determination to overcome, no matter what.

Alas, Ser-Versta appeared none too taken with his approach, and seemingly warranting this present wielder beneath contempt; it flashed with a violent burst of light that flung Lester away.

"Uwaaaah!"

Operating via some unknown force, Ser-Versta hovered in the air, seemingly looking down upon Lester in scorn.

Its actions were like those of a person flicking away a pesky insect, which had deigned to land on their body.

"Rejected." Claudia murmured.

"I think you mentioned this before, but Ogre Lux weapons determine their own contractor...?"

"Indeed. And they will refuse anyone with whom they deem communication is impossible."

 **(Our last measurements read in at 28%)**

"It's not over yet!"

Lester, who had been thrown into the far wall, picked himself up, and grabbed Ser-Versta once more.

"Uh-oh. I don't think Ser-Versta looks well upon that power-hungry attitude. It's not the kind of weapon that will submit to force or command by most people that have tried to wield this weapon before."

"You understand what's happening?"

"I also use an Ogre Lux, so more or less."

That was news to Ayato.

"Both the last time and the time before, Mr. McPhail also chose Ogre Lux weapons of great repute, with the result being what you see now. These aren't the kind of fickle weapons that give in to a simple lust for power. Not that the desire to be stronger is wrong..."

Cutting her words off mid-sentence, Claudia turned to look at Lester.

It didn't matter what he tried; Ser-Versta turned him into a human bullet each time.

"Shit! Why?! Why won't you obey me?!"

"It's likely that attitude that the Ogre Lux disapproves of. Well, although that Ogre Lux definitely has quite the strong personality, it's not like it doesn't heed commands at all."

"Really?"

"Although it's an older Ogre Lux, it's only had two contractors in its history - three, if you count 'her'."

"So my older sister was strong enough to use that monster of a sword..."

By this point, Lester couldn't even touch Ser-Versta anymore.

If he so much as approached it, the light flung him aside.

 **(Compatibility is at 17%)**

Having heard just how low his compatibility numbers had fallen, Lester no longer hid his fury.

"GIVE IN! KNOW YOUR MASTER!"

His howl availed him not. This time, Ser-Versta threw him yet farther still.

Having again been flung into the wall, no matter how you looked at it, this was a failure.

"Grr..!"

 **(Comparability rating is dropping steadily toward zero! Continued attempts will prove dangerous, please stop!?)**

"Oh, this won't do. He's made himself hated."

Sounding flustered, Claudia rushed forward before suddenly coming to a halt.

Her reason for doing so was readily apparent; Ser-Versta, still floating in mid-air, had begun to release a murderous heat.

Although Ayato stood some ten meters distant, he felt as if he was being roasted over an open flame.

 **(The object is completely out of control! Please evacuate!?)**

From the intercom came a cry of desperate urgency.

 **(The heat it's generating is rapidly increasing in temperature!?)**

Even without the announcement, Ayato could tell that things were taking a turn for the worse.

If things continued, being roasted by an open flame wouldn't just be a metaphor anymore.

"Ser-Versta's blade is originally a construction of heat. Because it was used by someone unfitting, its powers are beginning to leak."

"What should we do?" Ayato asked calmly, wondering what kind of damage the Ogre Lux was capable of doing.

"You mean what should we do when an Ogre Lux rages out of control? I'll be frank; I have no idea. Although I've read about it happening before, this is my first time experiencing it. We should probably run?"

"While that sounds good to me..."

Currently the room felt like an intense sauna.

Beads of sweat, large and small, ran down his face. He felt Ser-Versta's 'gaze', as it were, upon him; its tip pointed toward him.

It looked like it'd selected Ayato as its target.

Though Ayato had faced down human opponents before, this was a sword. Such a circumstance was beyond expectation. Thinking to himself, he knew that since his sister had used it before, then it's only logical that he had the best chance of using the sword.

"Doesn't look like I have a choice."

Ayato stared down Ser-Versta, and began to gather Prana. As the light began to accumulate, his body was wracked with pain, and his lip quivered.

Ser-Versta met Ayato's stare, before suddenly rushing forward in a surprise attack.

It flew towards his head in an incandescent flash of acceleration, the brutal heat forcing Ayato to squint his eyes. He grabbed hold of its hilt, at which point it changed direction to take aim at his body.

Ayato promptly leapt to the side, the long scar on his uniform evidence of how close things had come.

"...I'm guessing this is the price you have to pay to deal with these things?"

"Oi!"

At Ayato's words, casually out-of-place, Lester unconsciously shouted a warning.

Ser-Versta flew upward before reversing direction and stabbing downward, toward Ayato.

This was a flawless, unavoidable attack, or so it seemed until Ayato dodged at the very last moment, taking hold of its hilt once more.

"Hot!"

As you might expect, its heat had transferred through its hilt.

Even with his body protected by Prana, he still felt his hand be seared.

Refusing nonetheless to let go, Ayato stabbed Ser-Versta into the ground.

"...I'm sorry, I hate it when people just can't take a hint; like you, I think."

As Ayato finished speaking, the heat in the room disappeared in an instant.

Ser-Versta was now completely silent, as if its former actions were all an illusion.

"Fuu..."

Everyone was left too stunned to react, except for Claudia, who applauded.

"Just what I'd expect from you Ayato, well done. His compatibility rating?"

 **(N-ninety-seven percent!?)**

"Great."

Claudia nodded in satisfaction, and turned to face Lester.

"That's how it is. I'm sure you're rather dissatisfied, but I believe you have no complaints?"

Lester stared at Ayato with disbelief in his eyes, before biting his lips in frustration, clenching his fist, and punching the ground.

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 5: Unplanned Meeting**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"Alright, there we go."

Claudia helped Ayato apply antibiotics and ointment and placed a bandage over his wound before letting his right arm go.

"Are you sure you don't want to visit the infirmary? That kind of injury is something you should have them take a look at."

"Thank you very much, this is more than enough."

Ayato tried to clench his right fist; the pain was already mostly gone. He was more than familiar with pain as his whole body showing the evidence.

For him, pain was something as common as attacks by terrorist, militia, as well as other enemy forces hunted down by Ayato and his team. With areas of the world in complete and utter disarray, he wasn't shaken up by it, and for some...emotional pain was far worse as killing other human beings tended to weigh heavily on the minds of people.

However, Ayato was one of the few exceptions as killing enemy soldiers, terrorist, and even innocent civilians were nothing, but part of the job. If people died as a result of the ISD's operations in regions; wasn't their problem.

Simple as that...

After what had just happened with Ser-Versta, Claudia's concern was a natural reaction.

"Even if you say that..."

The two of them were once more in the student council room.

When Ayato had taken a hold of Ser-Versta, he'd suffer some minor injuries. In order to ensure he received some degree of treatment, Claudia had forced him to follow her back to the room.

The two were currently sitting on the guest sofa in the student council room. Claudia, for some unknown reason, was practically glued to his body as she offered treatment. Ayato raised what he felt was the pertinent question.

"Is it really alright for me to use it?"

After the disturbance had been safely resolved, Ser-Versta had been registered for Ayato's use.

Since the entirety of the registration process took two or three days, however, he didn't have it with him.

"With a compatibility rating of ninety-seven percent, who's going to complain? Is it that you're not happy with Ser-Versta?"

Shaking his head in response to her question, "Not at all. To be able to succeed the sword once used by my sister, I am more than pleased with that idea. It's just that...I don't understand why the sword would even pick someone...like me."

Claudia put her hand on Ayato cheek, who didn't seem to mind the contact, but was curious as to why she would show this amount of affection. The idea that could she could have possible feelings for him did enter his mind...

Deciding to figure this out later, he went back to listening to her.

"You're worried about what Mr. McPhail might think?"

Ayato thought back on the expression of supreme vexation on Lester's face as he'd left.

"Well, he clearly was the one who selected it first, but now it's being given to me. Granted, I mean, ain't my fault that it has a high compability rate with me."

"That can't be helped. While friendship and cooperation are hardly discouraged, remember that this city's true nature is one of competition. In order to maintain one's dignity and reputation, there are times when you simply have to accept things as they are."

"I sure hope he sees it that way."

Whether it was their first meeting or this one, Ayato's impression of Lester had not been a good one.

"Did something happen between the two of you?"

"To be honest, not just me. This involves Julis as well..."

Ayato explained the events of two days prior, when he'd become the third party in Julis and Lester's dispute. It was something that Ayato wished he didn't get involved with, as it was none of his concern. This mentality of leaving things that have no business with him alone, it was one that he picked after spending time in the South American jungles against rebel fighters.

It was nothing short of a living hell with what atrocities had gone on, and soon Ayato realized that not everyone can be helped, sometimes it's better to leave them on their own and save your own ass when it's needed.

A mentality that Ayato developed out of survival, not because he wanted to. It was because he needed to.

To this day, he still doesn't know why he helped Julis...

"Haha. Lester's obsession with Julis is rather well-known."

"If he can forget any ill will toward me, then that'd be great. It's just that, with what happened to Julis yesterday, I'd like to avoid adding to her burden."

"...You think that the perpetrator of the attacks might be Mr. McPhail?"

In response to Claudia's question, Ayato laughed.

"I never said that. It's true that Julis' attacker from yesterday was also large in stature, but to assume it was Lester from just that would be too much. And besides, I can see that when they said he fights fair...they ain't lying about that part. But nothings fair in this world anymore."

"But doesn't he have motive? After losing to Julis, and having her reject his requests for a duel, he definitely resents her greatly. That's something anyone can tell you."

Her reasoning wasn't wrong for thinking it was him, but there was a high chance that it was someone else.

"And that's exactly why I think it's not him. Lester bears a vicious grudge against Julis, and yet she always comes out the victor. He wants to demonstrate his superiority over her, something he can't accomplish if he hides and ambushes her; such a thing would be meaningless. Aside from that, I also don't feel like that way of doing things matches his style. I'd say he much prefers a straight-up duel with a crowd of onlookers watching."

"Then why would this create a problem for Julis?"

"Whoever the attacker is, they're targeting the chinks in her armor. That, of course, is only natural; Julis is profoundly strong. Were they to go after her directly, the probability of success would drop immensely. On the other hand, even if it is Julis we're talking about, once she begins a match, she has no choice but to focus all her attention on her immediate opponent."

"Perfect timing for a sneak attack."

"It wasn't until her duel with me or her match with Saya that she was ambushed. If provoked enough, there's the possibility she might battle Lester once more, opening herself up to attack."

"I see. What amazing insight. Now I can see why the ISD always wants to find the best soldier possible for their mercenary units."

Claudia nodded in admiration. Though her thoughts about the ISD were mixed as she couldn't find any reasoning to help others for the sake of money while they did fight the recent outbreak of terrorist organizations.

If it wasn't his imagination, her actions were those of a teacher, praising a student for doing well.

In other words, everything he'd said was within Claudia's realm of expectation.

The entire time, Claudia had maintained a perfect posture while facing Ayato.

"Ayato, given your good judgment, I have a favor I'd like to ask of you. Could you spare some time later this evening?"

"Huh? Oh, uh, sure. Is now not a good time?"

"What I have to discuss with you is private. I'll notify you of the exact time and place later on."

If it was just a matter of privacy, their current location ought to be just fine-

Ayato's thoughts were cleanly seen through by Claudia.

"The walls have ears. A place like this, where intrigue is made manifest, cannot be considered a secure location."

He nodded, after realizing what she needed to talk about was important.

 **~o0o~**

 **Later that same day**

Later that night, Ayato sat on his bed with just black pants and a white short sleeved shirt. He was looking over the Ser-Versta, a sword that his older sister had once used before him. This weapon may have had a mind of it's own, but the raven haired mercenary knows that even this sword couldn't compare to his own mind when it went into dark places at times.

Just before curfew, Ayato's cellphone sounded.

Unwilling to allow Eishirou to overhear their conversation, he quietly snuck out onto the rooftop of his dorm through the window as his enhanced body as well as his own parkour skills allowed him to easily traverse it.

Thankfully, there wasn't any cameras or security measures on the rooftop. He looked into the sky as he started speaking with the person on the other end.

" _I'm sorry for calling so late. After we separated, I had another meeting to attend to._ "

A space screen appeared, through which a voice came through.

"It's fine with me, although are you sure it's not too late?"

Even if the doors weren't locked, it was still past the time they were allowed to leave their dorms.

" _You're right, which is why the location's a bit troublesome. I'm going to need you to come over here in person._ "

"And where would that be?"

" _My room._ "

"...When you say room, you mean your room in the dorms?"

" _That's right. My room is on the south-eastern side of the building, on the top floor. I'll leave my window open, so come on up,_ " Claudia said candidly.

"Last time I visited, I mucked things up rather badly."

Moreover, at least the last time he could claim ignorance. This time he would be in knowing violation of school policy.

" _Not to worry, I'm different from Julis. I'm not going to fight you._ "

"...That's not what I was referring to."

There was no two ways about it; the student council president inciting others to violate school guidelines wasn't a good thing.

" _Alright then. I'll be waiting._ "

"Fine, I can't even get out of this, can I?"

The other party had already ended the call.

Furthermore, she'd rejected all his objections. Ayato could only smile at Claudia's quirks as a person. He hadn't imagined things would go down this path. Admittedly, though, he'd been given a glimpse into Claudia's mindset, as well as seen the evidence of her trust in him.

Left without any other alternative, Ayato climbed back down to his dorm room and changed into a white shirt and black sweater. He made his way down the side of the building as it became curfew for all students to be in their dorm rooms.

Ayato finally touched the ground after climbing the ten story building and made his way over to the female dorms. Making sure not to be seen by anybody.

"If I get seen by Julis this time, there won't be anything left of me to find."

At first glance, the girls dorms were none too secure. This was only the case, however, because the school's choice of a security system couldn't be taken lightly.

For members of the Starpulse Generation, traditional security systems weren't something all that difficult to bypass. That said, were they to be too strict, they would interfere with the quality of daily life. Instead, Seidoukan Academy opted for a different route.

After considering these points, it was decided that within the girls dormitory an alert system would be placed.

Any girl within the dormitory could trigger the alarm, immediately notifying the nearby guard station. This alert trigger could also be installed on the Mana Dite of each girl's Lux. For example, a girl might report that she'd 'returned to find her room a wreck', from this inferring that 'some unknown party had forcibly entered'.

After receiving an incident report, the security guards required only an average of two minutes before arriving and dispensing harsh and unrelenting discipline.

Thinking of this, Ayato whispered a silent thanks in his heart for the silver-lining of the incident earlier, namely that Julis had not called for security.

Speaking of which, although Julis's alert system was definitely active at the time, she'd had the confidence to resolve matters on her own without outside assistance.

"Looks like I'm here. I've already been here once before, so I at least feel more familiar with the setting, but...doesn't doing this make me just a common pervert?"

Arriving at the dorm, he scaled an unnoticed wall like a gecko, taking care not to make a sound, before at last reaching the top floor and the designated room.

He lightly tapped on the window, but it was unnecessary. True to her word, Claudia's window was unlocked.

This exposed the flaw in the alert system - if a girl wanted to let a boy in, it was trivial to do so.

Though Ayato had his own thoughts on the morality of what he was doing, it seemed highly unlikely the security guards would look kindly upon his actions.

"Claudia? I'm coming in."

Ayato gave advance warning, but no response was forthcoming.

Since hovering at the window's edge was rather difficult, he took the prerogative in entering despite not having received an answer.

The room was far more spacious than his own room, and elegantly furnished. Even if this was technically a 'dormitory room', it felt infinitely more like a room in a high-class hotel. The various decorations and odds and ends littered about the room were similarly high-class, giving one an appreciation for their owner's sense of aesthetics.

Said owner was nowhere to be seen, though.

"Don't tell me she's not here..."

On the side was a door to another room, likely the bedroom. As he considered entering, the door suddenly opened wide.

"Oh my, welcome. I apologize, I just finished showering."

From the newly appearing Claudia, wisps of steam gently rose. Moreover, she was currently only wearing a bathrobe.

This bathrobe was made of an appropriately light material, and her chest visibly swayed with each movement.

Furthermore, since the hem of the bathrobe was rather her short, her thighs were clearly visible. Her skin was flush with a soft warmth, radiating a needless sensuality.

"I'm going to change. Please feel free to look around as you please."

Claudia's hair was still slightly damp, and in the light, seemed to glitter bewitchingly. As she carelessly passed by Ayato, his body stiffened.

"...How the hell am I supposed to stay calm like this...?" Ayato wanted to know why she was like this, it wasn't like he'd be able to avoid the situation with just that.

Furthermore, such cries would only make the situation worse. A few moments later, she called out to him.

"Thanks for waiting. Please, have a seat."

"...Got it."

The two of them maintained their silence as they entered the bedroom.

Ayato had had some sense of foreboding, but even he could never have expected that Claudia's 'changing' had only resulted in the addition of a coat over her bathrobe. She took a seat on the edge of her bed.

"I don't really know how to put this, but you really should put on more clothes..."

"This is what I always wear in my room."

He felt it unbearably rude were he to simply continue to look at her, attired as she was. He was a guy, it was normal for him to notice the curves and beauty that Claudia had been gifted with, as the evidence being right in front of him.

Though he wished that she would put some clothes on...

Not that he believed she'd change anything just by his asking.

Sighing, he took a seat on the sofa. Claudia took the opportunity to prepare a wine glass into which she poured a ruby-colored liquid.

"There's plenty for you as well. Would you like some?"

"I'd prefer not to swallow mysterious substances if at all possible."

"Haha. Very wise of you."

It was better to stay away from that kind of thing.

"But still, this is quite the room. Is that one of the privileges of being a student council president?"

"No. Rather than the student council president, this is a privilege of being a Page One. All of the Top Twelve have a room like this, and what's more, living expenses are rather preferential as well."

"I see, so the rumors about you being a Page One are true then."

Claudia gave a lonely smile.

"I'm hurt. Should I take that to mean that Ayato hasn't the slightest interest in my affairs?"

"Look, it's not that I'm not interested, just...behind, if that's the word I'm looking for."

"Forget it. This position of student council president can be pretty troublesome at times; it's rare that I can speak freely."

"Then why did you accept the appointment?"

"Because I like troublesome things."

Claudia revealed a deep and profound smile, and gracefully crossed her legs.

The captivating sight unknowingly entranced Ayato for a moment, but he nonetheless maintained a calm disposition as he spoke.

"In other words...the favor you wanted to ask concerns these 'troublesome things'?"

"I guess the sooner we discuss things, the better. Please take a look."

Claudia fiddled with her phone, opening a space screen in the air. On the screen appeared the visages of several students.

"These are students who have registered for the upcoming Phoenix. Although they aren't members of the Top Twelve, they fall among the upper ranks of the Named Charts. They're students in whom we had placed the utmost expectations."

"...Past tense?"

"Indeed. They lost in battles which left them in the hospital."

She sighed, and closed the window.

"The reasons are varied; for example, accidents, or injuries sustained during a loss, etc. Here in Asterisk, this kind of thing is pretty commonplace. Nonetheless, our investigations have revealed a certain oddity common to this incidents."

"The interference of a third party, correct? Just like my fight with Julis."

For Ayato, this didn't sound good by what she was telling him.

"Exactly. Yesterday's attack was the first time they've showed themselves so openly; generally their preferred MO was a sniping like during your duel with Julis. Given the uniformity of MO, the probability we're dealing with a single perpetrator is extremely high."

Ayato thought for a moment.

"Any evidence?"

"None. Furthermore, all of the affected parties have rejected any and all assistance."

"Why's that?"

"Well...the students at this school are, how do I put this? Simply put, they're rather peculiar members of the Starpulse Generation. They trust in their own abilities to a fault. They're all waiting until they're fully healed to hunt down the attacker on their own, and pay him back."

"No mistake, that is pretty troublesome."

"A fuller explanation would require looking at things from another point of view, but for the most part, that's pretty much it."

The difficulty was that among those students with a certain level of ability, there were definitely those who held positions among the disciplinary committee, but the attacker had clearly and intentionally selected those students with lone wolf personalities.

"There's something else I need to mention to you. The disciplinary committee has already investigated both Mr. McPhail and Landy Hooke as possible perpetrators of yesterday's incident. They have no alibis."

"You still don't think it was them, though."

"No, I don't. Nor do you."

Claudia smiled joyfully.

"There's something strange about what you just said. Why isn't Cyrus a suspect? The three of them are attached at the hip after all."

"Cyrus Norman has a perfect alibi to cover for him. He was at home the entire time, hard at work; his roommate can attest to it."

"Is that so...Well, without a clear next step, there's nothing we can do but 'let the other side make the first move'."

"It's as you say. Fortunately, there is one thing we can be sure of. The identity of the next target is already known to us."

"...Julis."

"Right. This attacker takes advantage of the situation to take down his target, without needing to reveal himself. If he was a member of the Top Twelve, there'd be no need for all this. In other words, the perpetrator would have a difficult time in a direct confrontation, but somehow still needs to take down skilled students. From this, we can infer "

Ayato filled in the pieces. "They're acting under the direction of another school. Am I right?"

"Another school?"

"Moreover, they should be a student of ours. Since all the incidents have taken place on school grounds, it would have been far too noticeable and far too dangerous otherwise."

"But then..."

The relationship between the six competing schools of Asterisk - Seidoukan Academy, St. Garrardsworth Academy, Allekant Academy, the World Dragon Seventh Institute, Le Wolfe Black Institute, and Queen Veil Girls Academy - could hardly be called good.

Since they were constantly competing with one another, such an outcome was only natural. That said, it wasn't to the point where they'd commit such blatantly illicit infractions against one another.

"We definitely can't discount the possibility. The provisions of the Stella Carta notwithstanding, history has shown that given the opportunity, no school would hesitate to take any actions they deemed necessary, no matter how deplorable."

Ayato's brow furrowed.

If he understood her correctly, 'whatever they deemed necessary' seemed to refer to even attacking one's fellow students.

"We can eliminate both St. Garrardsworth and Queen Veil off the bat. Given their reputation, they have too much to lose to do something like this, and too little to gain. This sort of sneak attack is definitely typical of Le Wolfe, but they're currently focused on the Lindwurm; I doubt they'd expend the necessary effort for this. That leaves only Allekant and the World Dragon Seventh Institute. ...Hmm, I'll look into this a little more."

"It's fine either way?"

"Yeah, we just need to be careful not to overstep our bounds in roping them in."

Having spoken this far, Claudia turned to look directly at Ayato.

"Truth be told, this Seidoukan Academy is an organization directly managed by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation. Without explicit approval, the scope of our actions is rather limited indeed. The disciplinary committee is granted more autonomy, but should they act, there is the possibility of the other party noticing. The Integrated Enterprise Foundation keeps a pretty close eye on things."

Claudia shrugged.

"It's not enough to simply identify the school in the shadows behind our attacker; such a thing is meaningless. We need evidence of their collusions. Anything else is our loss, and believe me, the Integrated Enterprise Foundation is not forgiving of failure."

"In other words, until we have that evidence, we can't move on the attacker."

"Looking at it another way, until then, the probability of another attack is high. That brings me to the favor I wanted to ask. Ayato, could you stay by Julis' side and protect her?"

"What?"

Ayato stared dumbly at Claudia in surprise at the unexpected request.

"Julis will be undoubtedly be attacked again. If she's alone when that happens, it's possible she won't be able to handle things this time. That's why I'd like to ensure she has the strength she needs by her side, in other words, you. Originally, however, this wasn't something I should entrust to a student..."

"Is there a reason it has to be me?"

"As you well know, that girl deliberately keeps her distance from others. Fortunately, though, you seem to be an exception."

"As far as that goes, it was only to the point of showing me around school, you know?"

Moreover, she always seemed to be upset with him. Although, there were times that Ayato noticed a few things about her as any time that he's done anything nice for her, she always acted flustered around him.

"Hah...You really are thick, aren't you?" Claudia laughed as she teased him.

Though Ayato maintained a sober expression. "I know what you want to say, but...I really don't think I'm up to the task."

"Oh, and why's that?"

"My strength isn't enough for her to be able to rely on. Besides, my own mind is something I can trust and it's made for combat...protecting others have cause me nothing, but a waste of time for me in recent years..."

"How cruel of you, Ayato."

"I'm calling it as I see it."

It was indeed the case, after all.

Claudia stared Ayato down before finally sighing.

"As I said before, just do your best. If you feel things are getting out of hand, feel free to run."

"That ain't an option in my own mind, it's usually fight to my last breath. No exception to it."

Claudia asked him a question.

"If nothing else, by standing with her, you at least give the appearance of additional combat strength, right?"

"...If you put it like that, then I understand. I'll accept but, let me warn you, don't expect too much. You just focus on identifying the attacker so we can pull the curtain on this show already. I don't need this distraction with my own job here."

Both had agreed to what needed to be done in order to find the culprit responsible for this incident involving high ranking students such as Julis. And speed was key to this.

"Alright, I'll do my best." Ayato finally allowed himself to say.

Relieved, Claudia smiled.

"On another note, why is it that you worry about Julis so?"

"As the student council president, isn't it only natural to worry about one's students?"

"And the real reason?"

Claudia didn't speak at first. Finally, bowing her head, she answered softly.

"I'm like any other student. I came here to realize my dreams. I'm simply acting in accordance with that wish."

"Wish..."

Claudia's words tormented Ayato. He was nothing, but a mercenary; someone who simply uses his abilties in combat for money. Nothing more, nothing less...

Both Claudia and Julis were fighting for the a reason that drives them through anything. While Ayato was still looking for his own reason to fight for something, though this was nothing more than a job to him like the hundreds of others that he's taken on.

"Oh, that reminds me. I can't just ask a favor from you without giving you some kind of reward."

"Hmm? Oh, I don't need anything like that."

Ayato waved her offer away, but Claudia still rose up and approached him.

"Claudia?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Fufufu."

With a bewitching smile on her face, Claudia circled around to Ayato's back.

Though he continued to sit in the chair as his mind was trying to figure out what the girl was trying to do.

"Huh..."

"Seeing as this is a pretty rare opportunity, if you want me, it's OK, you know?"

"What are you talking about?" While he understood what she meant, he just didn't know how to react to this.

A sugary-sweet whisper entered his ear.

Warm breath tickled his throat as he was pushed back into the sofa. Feeling the weight of Claudia on his lap, it didn't bother him all that much, but his own small fear of what would happen if he let someone into his dark mind...

It was a thought that terrified the mercenary beyond any enemy fighter, tank, or weapon...

As Claudia mounted Ayato, her bathrobe slowly slid back, revealing her shoulders and cleavage. In that dimly-lit room, a pair of damp eyes stared at Ayato.

Ayato worried that if things continued, he wouldn't be able to control himself. Moreover, the other party was a half-naked girl, currently pushing him down. Careless movements could prove fatal in this situation.

"Don't worry."

Claudia took a hold of his hands, and placed them atop her chest.

"Mm..."

That this world held something so impossibly soft. The slightly moist skin adhered to the palms of his hands, and though there was just the barest contact between them, the feeling was indescribable. If things continued down this path...

Ayato worried that if things continued, he was doomed.

"Claudia...hang on a sec..."

He slowly removed his hands from her chest and simply put them around her waist, holding her close to him, and remained quiet for some time. As the half-naked girl simply looked at the mercenary with some confusion as for what was going on.

"What's wrong Ayato?"

She saw that his hair covered his eyes as wondered what could possibly be wrong with Ayato. To her, he was the most interesting person she had ever met in her life. Someone that went through traumatizing experiences of war and continued onward, but even with his scars and problems.

He kept moving forward in his life...unlike herself.

It was simply awe-inspiring to her...

Yet, at this moment she didn't understand what was wrong with him now...

Claudia lifted up his face, all she could see was pain...

Not physical...

But emotional...like Ayato hit a line that he would never cross in his lifetime...

"I can't...I can't...do this..."

She responded gently, "What can't you do?"

Trying his best not to break down, it was the gentle voice of Claudia that helped him.

"For me...I can't let anyone...get close to me..."

"It must have been hard on you, on the other side of the world...fighting for things of little importance to you and having to see terrible things that no human being should ever have to see. I know I might never be able to understand the pain of having to survive a world like this...but I want to help you nonetheless..."

Her soothing voice made Ayato calm down and her presence was altogether; peaceful.

Inside him, was nothing, but conflict as his morals and mind battled it out for control. It was tearing him a part without even realizing it.

Leaning her head onto his shoulder, she whispered something into his ear.

"Ayato...letting people can he hard, but sometimes...it can only help you if they are the right people around you."

He turned his head to face her, "The only thing I've learned over the years...that pain never goes away...it always stays behind..."

Claudia's hand cupped his cheek, she leaned in closer than before.

"Maybe...I can help with that pain..."

Those were her last few words before her lips touched his. He felt her warm lips pressed up against his. The feeling was unlike anything the two ever felt as Ayato pressed Claudia closer to him, as her slender frame laid comfortably on his larger one. Lips parted and their tongues danced with one another as things started to get more heated. A soft moan coming up from the back of Claudia's throat as she pressed her body closer to his, looking for more contact as they kept the kiss going.

They didn't know how much time had passed, even though it was only about a minute. But to them it felt like a lifetime when they finally pulled back, her eyes never leaving his as she continued to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Whenever you feel like you need help, just call me or visit me. I'll help you through it, okay Ayato?"

Nodding, "Thank you Claudia...you don't have to do that..."

She shook her head, "But I want to, there's more to you than you let anybody see. There's nothing but pain that haunts you to this day about things that you've seen, and done as a soldier. Helping someone that I care about, who's in pain. That's all..."

Ayato couldn't understand why someone would even bother with a nobody like him. He was a mercenary, someone that killed for money and took advantage of the situations that other countries are in for profit...

It amazed him, and for the first time in his life since his sister disappeared; he was happy for the first time.

Leaning in once more to capture her lips once more, he said a few words that would change him.

"You have no idea what you're getting into..."

The light tone to his voice helped Claudia, "I know what exactly I'm getting into...someone who needs me and someone that I need, is holding me."

They remained in their position as well as silent for a few moments until Ayato broke the silence as he started speaking, "Claudia...what are we to each other?"

She started caressing his cheek, "We told our feelings to each other...Ayato? All I can say is that maybe you're the 'one' for me..."

Claudia spoke his name with such a soft tone, it was difficult for him not to fall for her even more.

"I do care about you Claudia. You bring a feeling that I haven't felt in years...and to be honest, I may not know how I truly feel about you...but I do want to be with you...I know that much" He finished his statement with a smile on his face.

"You have me falling for you too...Ayato. I want to be with you..."

Her cheeks were tinged red. A loving smile was directed to Ayato, "Lovers could be the word to describe you and I..."

The mercenary's eyes widened at what she said, "Claudia..."

She giggled, "A~ya~to...I know that Julis is still around...so I don't mind sharing you. But just don't ever stop caring about me..."

Ayato couldn't speak for a few moments, "I won't ever stop caring about you Claudia...I can promise you that."

After a few more minutes of finishing up his conversation with Claudia, he started making his way to her window as she saw him out. He stood on the ledge and faced her, a smile was present on his face, a genuine smile for once.

"I'll see you tomorrow Claudia. Have a good night."

"You too my love, and don't try to attract too much attention."

The two kissed once more before Ayato started his climb down from the dorm building, making sure not to pass by any of the windows.

 **~o0o~**

 **A few moments later**

"I still don't understand how that happened..."

Sticking near the fence as he escaped the girls dorms, Ayato sighed.

His time with Claudia was longer than he expected, and in the end, he didn't mind it all.

"Still can't believe I let someone in...I must be getting soft...and maybe that's not so bad..."

Conversing with God knows whom, and once again he saw that fragile Claudia from weeks ago. For him, he was at a crossroad in terms of his feelings at this very point...because he never did think anyone could help him...and someone managed to break through...

Ayato felt relived when she helped through his emotions as they were beginning to break through the lid.

Either way, it wasn't like he was about to ignore Julis' plight.

"She is, after all, the girl with the same look in her eyes as my sister herself."

He now realized that that look revealed the ferocity of her determination.

That being the case...

"Hey!"

Hearing a voice call out from above, he froze.

Looking up, he saw Julis looking down from her window above.

"What are you doing down there?"

"...Um, well, this is..."

There was no way in hell he was going to tell her he'd just snuck into the girls dorms.

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear."

Saying that, Julis leapt down.

She wore casual clothing, nothing formal. Her actions, in jumping down, were none too princess-like either.

"K!"

"...Is it going to be like this every time we talk?"

"Don't be stupid. Chasing you like last time was the first and last time for me. It's just more convenient this way."

As Julis finished speaking, she finally realized what she held in her hands.

Noticing it'd drawn Ayato's attention, she frantically stuffed it into her pocket.

"A letter?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

She didn't sound like she wanted to talk about it, but she nonetheless appeared quite joyful.

It was undoubtedly a letter from someone precious to her.

In this age of digital communication, a handwritten letter was a rare sight indeed.

Judging from this, it was likely its contents were meant to be private.

"So? What're you doing here, at this time?"

"Taking a walk. Can't sleep."

"A walk?"

"It's one of my hobbies, you know."

That was no lie.

"Whatever, forget it. Hey, do you have some time this Sunday?"

"Sunday? I should."

Since he'd just recently transferred, he had no plans.

"Alright then. Why don't I show you around then, like I promised earlier?"

"That'd be great."

She seemed to have been referring to when she'd asked him to leave his day off open.

"Um, also...I-I'm just checking here, but...I'm the only you've asked to come with, correct?"

"Huh? Of course?"

"B, Because if someone unexpected turns up, t-that'd throw things off..."

Julis spoke rather haltingly, but he nonetheless understood what she was asking.

"If you're talking about Saya, there's no need to worry."

"...Why's that?"

"Don't you remember that Kyouko told her she had to make up lessons?"

At Ayato's words, Julis clapped her hands together.

"Ah, you're right! Yeah, that's right! Right then, I'll be taking my leave first. I'll let you know when and where later."

Mumbling to herself, Julis waved as she walked back inside, this time, through the front door.

"The day after tomorrow, is it? I doubt they'd attack outside of school premises, but it's best to be safe."

Sighing, Ayato also made his way back to the dorms.

Since he'd left his room empty at night, there was no way that curiosity-driven roommate of his would just let things go.

To change his mood, Ayato turned to watch the night sky, whose clouds covered up the starlit sky. He soon realized that the bright stars might be replaced with something other than normal city lights as something was approaching the city. Fast.

And Ayato could feel a storm heading for the city...

* * *

 **Another one done for this story!**

 **I'm on a roll guys! And don't worry, real fire-fights are coming soon!**

 **See ya later!**


	6. Chapter 6

" _In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies._ " - Winston Churchill

* * *

 **Few days later**

 **May 2nd, 2025**

 **Asterisk City, Japan**

"Sorry for the wait, Julis. Hope you didn't have to wait long."

"Not at all; I just arrived myself. I was hoping to praise you for getting here early, though... Hey, what's with that face? That stupid look on your face is making you look even more stupid than normal, you know?"

It was a bright, sunny Sunday.

Arriving at the appointed location, the school's outer gates, Ayato was stunned by Julis' appearance.

She wore a stylish, dark-red miniskirt and thigh-high stockings. She held a parasol lightly in one hand. She looked drastically different from how she normally appeared, and radiated a youthful, feminine appeal.

Julis was a beautiful young girl, but her usual gallant words and actions detracted from that feeling. Now dressed in normal clothing, it was impossible not to notice her stunning good looks. Ayato wasn't excluded from this either.

"...Is there something on my face?"

"Uh, sorry. Er, no...it's just that you seem so different from normal. It actually looks pretty good on you."

"R...really?"

"Yeah, your look really suits you."

"Wha...I-idiot! Don't say such embarrassing things!" Julis looked around frantically as her face flushed a deep scarlet.

"Th-This is just something sent from home. I just thought I should dress in something suitable for the occasion. I-It's not like I chose this especially for you or anything..."

Although the flush of her face could be perceived as anger, this interpretation contradicted the complicated expression on her face and her coy manner. Pulling herself together, she returned her gaze to Ayato, and spoke in a tone filled with interest.

"I'm not quite sure how to say this, but...you really don't have any clothes, do you?"

"Oh, that. Yeah, to be honest, I've never really been one to follow fashion. These clothes are pretty old."

Ayato wore a T-shirt and a three-quarter sleeve jacket as well as a pair of well-worn jeans. He was a simple man, and with his time taken up with missions across the globe and hotspots of conflict.

Shopping was the last thing on his mind.

"I didn't say they looked bad on you...wait a sec."

"Hmm?"

Julis leaned in, extended a hand, and patted down his hair.

"Uh, Julis? Can I ask you what're you doing?"

"Your hair was sticking up. Honestly, you're just like a child. Pay more attention to how you look, ok?"

As she spoke, Julis smiled innocently.

Ayato, on the other hand, felt his heart skip a beat. His night with Claudia was still fresh in his mind, his feelings were all over the place recently. He really couldn't understand who his mind wanted to be with.

Claudia, someone who has her own dark secrets and was one of the few people he could share some of his darkest thoughts and moments throughout the last few years of being a soldier of fortune with. While Julis was pure, in his own mind of course, she was someone that could bring an innocence that Ayato lost long ago.

One girl could guide him through the dark without being lost and going mad. The other was the light at the end of tunnel, representing the end of the living hell he's been going through the last few years.

Each girl was different, and his feelings were strong for both girls. The longer time he spend with them only made them stronger...

As a mercenary, he was never meant to feel, only think. It was a simple logic that saved him time and time again.

"Alright, let's go!"

Unaware of Ayato's inner turmoil, Julis fairly skipped along in glee.

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 6: Mercenary's average Sunday**

 **Business District, Asterisk City**

Asterisk's urban district was separated into two parts, an outer residential district and a central district.

The outer district utilized a monorail line which connected Asterisk's harbor, residential district, and each of the six schools.

In comparison, the central district's main form of transportation was a subway system. This decision was made in order to ensure that students' battles would not interfere with the public transportation, even in the worst case.

The central district was further subdivided into the business district and the administrative district. In the center were located several amphitheaters. Residing in this area were arms companies and other business that relied on the selling of weapons.

It was also in this sector of the city, where Ayato and his team needed to investigate in order to find any information about the PLM's plan to attack the city. It was the biggest concern for the ISD, one that needed the most attention.

Julis and Ayato were currently in the central district, and more specifically, the central stadium for the Festa.

"This is the self-proclaimed largest and most important arena in Asterisk. The greatest battles of the Festa are all fought here."

Julis stood in front of the gigantic oval-shaped building as she explained.

It boasted a maximum seating capacity of one hundred thousand people. When the Festa is held, all contestants will gather here in order to battle it out.

"Although its outward appearance is meant to mimic the Roman Colosseum, they are two very different structures. There are three other large amphitheaters, and seven mid-sized ones. When it comes to the small ones, who knows how many there are?"

"This city must love open combat like that."

"According to regulations, battles occurring in the city center must be held within one of these arenas. In practice, however, that's not always the case."

"...People actually fight in the middle of the city?"

"Yeah."

"I'm not surprised by that. So open combat isn't regulated at all?"

Take, for example, Julis' wild attacks during their duel earlier. If it had taken place in the city instead, it'd have turned their surroundings to scorched earth within the next five to ten minutes of fighting.

"Those who live here have already prepared themselves for such occurrences. Spectators are the same. Only those who have given express written agreement to these conditions are allowed into the city. That said, if a store suffers any collateral damage, they'll be compensated for their losses."

"That sounds really harsh. Then again, all that aside, I guess it's pretty hard not to be drawn in by this place." He knew that with the opportunity

"To be able to set up a store here in Asterisk, founded and managed directly by the Integrated Enterprise Foundation, is an unparalleled form of advertising. Moreover, this central district is the heart of all activity during the Festa."

"To be frank; I don't think I'd like to live here." Ayato never truly stayed in the same part of the world for anything longer than a few weeks at a time, after a mission was completed by his team then it was off for the next location.

Living in a city like this wasn't a place he would want to live in.

"I agree." Julis smiled wryly.

"So what would you like to see next? Would you like to keep looking around here?"

"No, that's plenty, thank you." Ayato shook his head in response before Julis continued speaking.

"Alright then, why don't we swing by the hospital as we make our way towards the administrative district. The healers in Asterisk are Strega and Dante with healing abilities; they're also responsible for things during the Festa. To keep things fair, though, they don't intervene unless things are really serious. If it's only something on the level of a fracture, you're stuck with normal medical practices."

The number of Strega and Dante with healing abilities was a very small population.

In order to ensure that each of the six schools would have equivalent opportunities to receive treatment, there was an agreement that all Strega and Dante with these abilities would serve in this central hospital under the direct supervision of Asterisk itself.

With the exception of difficult-to-treat cases, threats to life, or injuries with potentially permanent effects, students were required to undergo treatment at the hands of these special healers.

"After that...why don't we pass by the redevelopment district. The slums are located in that area, so it's not the safest of locations. Getting lost there can be dangerous."

The slums existed for several reasons, among which included those who had been denied admittance into the city and members of the Starpulse Generation who were currently fleeing the authorities; a true thieves den.

While it was true that it was hardly the safest of locations, it was equally true that such places were to be found anywhere large concourses of people gathered together.

"That reminds me. Saya once mentioned that she'd gone shopping only to find herself in a rather shady area. It was a large, rundown building with lots of sketchy shops within." The raven haired teen mentioned as he remembered what his friend told him the other day.

"...That's definitely the redevelopment area then. On that note, wouldn't you normally just shop at a normal store? Why would you go there to buy something?"

Sighing Ayato spoke, "Saya is hopelessly bad with directions."

At those words, Julis' face twisted into a malicious expression.

"He~h, speaking of which, how is it that you're always showing up in the strangest places? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

That was certainly the case.

Truth be told, the few memories that the mercenary had of when he was younger was of Saya and him playing together when they were younger, they would frequently get lost as a result of her problem.

"Anyway, next up is..."

"Hey, Julis. I did ask you to show me around, but how about we do lunch first?"

As Ayato watched Julis ponder a map, he offered an alternative.

The timing was just about right.

His stomach seconded his proposal.

"Mm...well, I guess it is about that time..."

Julis seemed slightly uncomfortable, however.

"Something wrong?"

"Oh, no...I don't have any problems with lunch, it's just that the restaurants around here are, well..."

"If the ones around here are a problem, why don't we just head over to the business district and choose one there? Is it a problem with money?"

He'd heard that when it came to the restaurants in the area, they could be rather expensive. That said, given the nature of this place, he wasn't exactly expecting to find a convenience store. Or, real food in general as he was used to MRE packs for days on end to even going without food for some time.

Being a soldier of fortune wasn't easy in this world...

"No, it's not that- What to say?...I'm sorry!"

Julis suddenly bowed her head and apologized.

"It's not that I've never eaten around here before, but...if you're going to ask where we should eat, then I don't know where we should go."

"Oh, hmm..."

"I promised I'd show you around; such a failure is humiliating...b-but I'll look one up online right now!"

Flustered, Julis frantically pulled out her phone and opened a window.

It seems she was browsing a review site.

As Ayato looked on though, his eyes widened at what he was seeing in front of him.

Every restaurant she was looking at was the elite of high-class. When compared to the prices that people find wandering around the district, the differences were like night and day. Places that would have left Ayato feeling exposed in such an alien environment.

Moreover, they all required prior reservation.

"...Um, yeah, to be honest, those are all a little..."

"I-I know that their prices aren't normal! But these are the only places I know... If I have a choice at all in the matter, going somewhere I've never been before is a little scary..."

Looking closely, these were all world-famous restaurants.

Furthermore, they were all three Michelin star restaurants. While he never visited them himself, a few times when he was a bodyguard for high class citizens, they mentioned these restaurants every once in a while.

Deciding to save her the embarrassment, "Haha, alright, I get it. It's fine; let's just walk around, and we'll choose whatever place looks good, ok?"

"I-is that really alright?"

"If you're fine with it, then that's all that matters."

"My opinion's not the important one here. A... are you really not mad?" Her voice was soft and hints of shame could be picked out, only if one could listen carefully. His time of limited resources had made Ayato fine with whatever, from meals to even clothing.

Such was a result of living on nothing but the bare minimum.

"Why would I be mad Julis?"

Ayato was confused by Julis' disheartened question.

"Because...this is clearly all my fault."

She seemed quite serious.

Seriously, was there any need to worry about such trivial matters?

"I've wanted to ask this before, but don't you ever tire of taking things so seriously, Julis?"

"...Even if you say that, this is just how I am," Julis sulked.

"You're burdened by so many things. It makes me worry whether you'll be crushed under the weight of all that responsibility."

"It's definitely not easy, but that's just my way of life. If you ask me, you're the one we need to worry about. So casual, and unburdened by responsibility. Are you sure you wouldn't like to take things more seriously as well? It'd do much to plant your feet on the ground."

Though her words were casually spoken, they pierced Ayato to the core. Again, she didn't know about his time in the cesspool called the world and his act to make sure no one would ever find out had only fooled the average person as well as Julis.

With Claudia being the only one to see through it.

"Hah...Well, let's just make our way over to the business district, OK?"

Ayato changed the topic.

Nor did Julis opt to continue that line of questioning. Instead, the two walked along the busy road toward their destination.

"It's been so long since I've seen this many people before..."

"Yeah, it's a day off, after all."

The clean, neatly-paved asphalt streets were littered with students. Although they were of course dressed in casual clothing, they all had their school badges pinned to their chests. Even if it was a day off, they still felt the obligation to do so.

The business district had specified times during which vehicles were denied entry, and so the streets were filled with pedestrians.

Shops filled both sides of the streets, and restaurants were to be found aplenty. From the signs and advertisements he could see, it seemed their prices were fairly normal.

"Alright then. Let's choose one around here."

Ayato turned to Julis...who had gone missing.

"...Huh?"

Gazing around, he saw a head of rose-colored hair standing a ways off.

"What's up? You gave me a heart attack."

Julis stood in a daze, only coming to when she heard Ayato's voice from behind her.

"Are we eating here?"

"Here..."

' _I would think most princesses wouldn't select a hamburger joint to eat at, right?_ '

Julis was staring at a local branch of a large hamburger chain. Though it was, in a sense, as world-famous as the restaurants she'd been looking at earlier, in every other sense, they were worlds apart.

"It's not like I care, but...is this place really alright?"

"Yeah, here!"

At first, he assumed it was due to the curiosity of a princess, encountering a hamburger place for the first time, but the smoothness with which she ordered a set meal revealed the incorrectness of that assumption. While for the raven haired teen, this was the first time in years that he visited such a place.

Ayato simply ordered a cup of medium coffee for himself, this was the one thing that he hadn't had in years. The two of them selected a seat by the window to eat together for lunch.

"I know this is my second time asking, but... Julis, you're really a princess, right?"

"...Why do you ask?"

Her actions in making her selection and ordering had been undeniably practiced. In any case, the way in which she nibbled at the hamburger she held with both hands was certifiably adorable. Well he rarely used that word and this was the case where something filled the criteria.

"I would think most princesses wouldn't select a hamburger joint to eat at, right?"

"That's just a stereotype. The evidence is right in front of you. It's pretty common, really."

"So that's how it is..."

Ayato started drinking his black coffee, and leaned against the back of his chair.

The same flavor as when he was young. Indeed, the same flavor the world over. It filled him with nostalgia.

"A friend told me about this place."

Breaking the silence, Julis spoke regretfully.

"A friend?" Implored Ayato, a little to rude for his own liking.

Julis seemed offended by the question, "I do have friends; it's just that they're all back home."

Ayato suddenly recalled seeing something in her hand the other night when he visited Claudia. The object that Julis was hiding from him when they were talking that same night

"Oh, so that letter from that night, that was from your friend, wasn't it?"

"Wha!?"

Ayato's words caused Julis to choke, and, pale-faced, she patted her chest frantically.

It was at that moment that she started coughing, "Ahem! H, how did you know?"

"You really are an honest person...and, well, it's not hard to figure that out when seeing words written on a paper with the words 'Dear' and 'From' gave it away."

Julis blushed fiercely from being figured out so easily.

One moment completely white, the next completely red; her complexion sure was busy.

"A-anyway. I found this place on that review site. What did you think?"

"What do I think? Someone sure has free time if they can upload a review of a place like this."

"Why's that? Wasn't the food pretty good?"

Julis appeared thoroughly perplexed.

...She seemed less and less like a princess by the moment.

"Anyway, I was wondering. Would you mind if we changed the topic to something a little more serious?"

"Hmm, what's that?"

Finishing her hamburger, Julis seemed quite relaxed and content as she returned Ayato's gaze.

"It's regarding the attack on you earlier."

Ayato recounted in full what Claudia had shared with him earlier. Seeing as she hadn't forbid him from disclosure, he didn't think there was any harm in sharing what he knew with the person in question.

Not that he made any mention of his promise to protect Julis, given the cold reception she'd given previously. As well as keeping his own private conversation with Claudia a secret as well from Julis.

"I see; somebody's working for another school."

Julis mildly sipped her soda, seemingly unsurprised.

"I must be their final target, seeing as how they were willing to expose themselves this time around."

"Seeing how things stand, it'd be best if you kept someone by your side when you go out or duel somebody."

"I refuse. Why should I change the way I live my life just because of some petty crook?"

"...To be sure."

Such a reply was well within expectation.

"The only one allowed to decide where I go and what I do is me."

"As fearless as ever, I see."

Suddenly, from behind Julis, a large shadow appeared.

"...Lester, huh? Eavesdropping is quite the nasty habit, don't you know?" Julis responded.

Ayato looked up in surprise. To even meet in a place like this on their day off; it seems they were fated to run into one another.

"It's not like I wanted to hear it. I just overheard as I was passing by."

Unsurprisingly, trailing behind Lester were his two lackeys.

"I heard that you were recently ambushed by a mysterious attacker. My guess is someone holds a grudge against you."

"I've never done anything to warrant that."

Julis reply was calm, but Lester still looked stunned.

"It's that very attitude that rubs people the wrong way."

"Whatever. If that's all it takes to set people off, then I will happily be their opponent."

"Heh, what boundless confidence. Well then, seeing as that's the case, then why don't we fight right now?"

"How many times do I need to say this before it finally sticks? I haven't the least desire to duel you again."

"Screw that! Hurry up and agree to fight me!"

Lester struck the table with force.

As the loud crash permeated the room, it fell silent.

"L-Lester-san! Fighting without permission isn't going to turn out well!"

"T-that's right, Lester! If you make a disturbance here, you'll draw out the Star Hunter Guard!"

Cyrus and Landy desperately tried to hold him back, but their cries fell on deaf ears.

"Intimidating others like this isn't good, you know?"

"Shut your goddamn mouth."

Lester never even glanced in Ayato's direction.

"That's not such a good idea. Don't you know? Julis was attacked twice in the last couple days."

"And?"

"If you start something here, you'll likely be seen as collaborating with the attacker."

That sentence pushed Lester into a furor.

"Don't screw with me! How dare you compare ME with that cowardly pissant!?"

Lester held Ayato up by his collar as he roared.

"Fine. It really seems you're the one who needs to be taught a lesson first."

"I have no desire to duel you either."

"Ha?"

"I have no reason to."

Casting Ayato aside, Lester clenched his fist and punched the table.

This time, the poor table split in two.

"First you try to compare me with that yellow-bellied weakling, and then you have the nerve to try and back out of this? Don't you have any balls?"

"It's as you say."

Ayato answered, uncaring.

"Bastard...!"

"Lester! C-calm down! We know how strong you are! You always destroy your opponents honorably, without tricks! There's no need to listen to the words of this gutless wimp!"

Lester held his fist aloft, ready to come crashing down, as Landy held him back with all his strength.

"Th-that's exactly right! Everyone knows! Everyone knows you aren't the kind of person who'd ambush someone during a duel!"

Cyrus aided as best he could.

"Grr...!"

Lester seemed unable to restrain his rage for a moment, as he glared at Ayato with a look that could kill. Finally, however, he turned and exited the building with a swagger.

"Fuuu..."

"You really can't be underestimated."

Ayato's expression as well as his tone simply could be described as cold and soon his act of being seen as a pacifist returned, Julis laughed delightedly. Though she didn't see the expression and cold look in his eyes, making it seem like he was barely holding himself together.

"What?"

"...It's nothing, forget about it."

Julis gave a wry smile and stood. She picked up a napkin and wiped Ayato's mouth.

"You missed some ketchup. Really, what a strange person you are Ayato."

Her smile was one of pure innocence, not knowing the hell this world could unleash. Something sparked inside of him, and it didn't feel wrong to him.

' _Great...I have to sort out my feelings right now..._ '

 **~o0o~**

 **Few hours later**

By the time they started to head back, it was already dusk.

"Thanks for today Julis. I think that's the most fun I've had in quite some time."

"O-oh, is that so... Er, um, how should I put this? I was just returning a favor. There's no need to thank me."

As the sun set, the two of them slowly walked over to the subway station.

Approaching their destination, they noticed a commotion in that vicinity.

"Hmm? Something going on?"

Nearby, a group of students were fighting. From their direction came the sound of much swearing and insults. There looked to be more than ten people involved.

There was a crowd of onlookers watching the situation, but the vast majority of people simply walked on as if the matter was none of their concern.

"Le Wolfe students. I should have known; they're always doing moronic stuff like this."

Le Wolfe Black Institute, allegedly the most warlike of the six schools. Their school customs prioritized victory over all else, their official policies likewise.

For this reason, many of Le Wolfe's students were rather boorish individuals. Of those who grew up in the worst parts of the slums, the majority ended up at Le Wolfe.

"It looks like a gang dispute...Oh, wow, they've started to go at it."

The leader of one group rushed at the others; both sides held weapons aloft.

The individual members of the two groups split off and began individual battles.

"...This is bad. We're surrounded."

"What?"

As Ayato was about to answer, he was suddenly charged from behind by a dagger Lux-wielding thug.

"That was close."

Sidestepping dexterously, Ayato dodged the attack. It was abundantly clear that his target had indeed been Ayato.

Furthermore, at some point, the gang fight had ceased to be.

Instead, Ayato and Julis now found themselves surrounded by those very same Le Wolfe students.

"Those Le Wolfe blockheads often use this style of sneak attack to ambush others. For example, the way they were using that 'fight' as an opportunity to surround their true target, using the excuse that they were 'pulled into the commotion'. This is my first time experiencing it firsthand, though."

Julis spoke while calmly dodging her attackers.

It seemed their 'fight' was just for show. The members of what had originally been two groups had now consolidated into a single large group. From within their ranks, piercing glares targeting Julis and Ayato could be felt.

"...How is it that trouble always finds us?"

"Because these bastards are always doing things like this, so even on the off-chance that they're caught by the Stjarnagarmr, they'll be able to explain things away."

They would, of course, still be punished, but that punishment would be rather light.

"Does this mean that the people who attacked Julis were from Le Wolfe?"

"Hmph. No, they're just thugs-for-hire. As long as you have money, they'll do anything. That of course includes all of this."

As a Lux arrow flew past her, Julis bared a fearless smile.

"It looks like they're all just trash."

"So? What should we do about this?"

Though he already knew what her answer would be, he felt it best to ask nonetheless.

"Isn't that obvious? This is self-defense. Let's give them what they want."

"Please try not to go overboard."

It looked like this fight was for the purpose of forcing Julis to expose openings. That person was definitely hidden here, waiting for his opportunity to attack Julis. From what his own logical mind said that this individual is more brains than brawn.

"Don't worry. For guys of this level, there's no need to let my guard down just to take care of them."

Julis' surroundings burst into flame.

"...At least aim for medium-rare, and not well-done, pretty please?"

He hoped their attackers got the message.

Honestly speaking, these Le Wolfe students weren't anything special.

The moment they saw flames appear, they retreated into the subway station in disorder. As they retreated from the area, the two heard cries of 'That's the Gruene Rose!' and 'I-I never heard anything about this!'. It seems they hadn't been informed of their target's identity.

Ayato knew the disastrous results of not knowing enough information and the consequences of doi ng so.

"Hmph. That wasn't even enough for a warm-up."

Julis brushed her hair to the side, utterly ignoring the pile of bodies that littered the floor, and turned her gaze to Ayato.

"And what the heck was that?"

"What do you by that mean?"

"That utterly repugnant performance during the fight! You couldn't even deal with opponents of that level?!"

Julis' wrath was deserved. Unlike Julis who had easily dealt with her attackers, it was all Ayato could do to avoid injury and to make sure he didn't spill any of their blood in the process. Though individually they were weak, their numbers had been enough to keep him tied up.

It was all he could do as he didn't want anyone to even have a clue as to where he could possibly have been trained.

And that would be bad...

"Even if you say that, that's the limit of my ability."

Julis was stunned speechless for a moment, before finally sighing.

"I guess I'd raised my hopes too high."

The disappointment in her voice was evident.

Ayato forced a smile.

"Forget it. Let's interrogate these guys while we have the chance. And let me do this part..."

Julis looked over the fallen students before lifting a student with a pompadour to his feet. This was the one who'd been the leader of the group. While Julis would have preferred to interrogate them herself, she felt a change in Ayato...

She just couldn't figure out what it was though...

Walking towards one of them, the raven haired teen crouched down low enough. Grabbing the student by the throat and lifted him high enough off the ground, he could feel that Julis was a bit surprised by his actions.

A small smirk grew on his face, one that fitted a soldier like him...

"Sorry about us having to kick your sorry ass. Now me and my friend here want to know who hired you, and don't bother trying to lie. Besides, I really had to hold back against suckers like you...I don't think you would have wanted your throats crushed or cut open, would you?"

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

His threat was more than enough to scare the student. He could tell, just by looking at his eyes that he was serious about what he was doing. Ayato pressed the question once more as his grip around the student's neck tightened up.

"Make this easy for yourself. Just tell us who. Hired. You."

"I-I don't know! I just received the commission; I don't know anything else. I don't even know why!"

Whenever they needed to get information from someone, Ayato was always the first one to break any person.

"The guy who hired you; what did he look like?"

Trying his best to remember, "He was dressed all in black, very large, very tall. I didn't see a weapon, though!"

"And his voice?"

"V-voice? I-I don't remember." His fear grew of what Ayato might do to him.

"What did he say to you guys?"

"He didn't speak a word. He'd written his request on a piece of paper which he handed to me along with the money."

Cogs started spinning in Ayato's head, "On a piece of paper...? What did it say?"

"It said this was the initial payment. The rest of the payment would hang on the outcome."

"Outcome..."

As the mercenary pondered his words, the student suddenly shouted.

"T-that's him! That's the guy!"

As Ayato and Julis turned to look, the shadow raced away.

Though they'd only caught the briefest glimpse, it was undoubtedly their black-clothed attacker.

"Stop!"

Julis started to chase after him.

"Julis, let's corner him!"

Julis glanced backward in response, but never stopped moving her feet.

She seemed to have lost her head. Normally, Julis wouldn't engage in such actions which skirted the boundaries between bravery and stupidity.

In other words, she'd finally showed the opening her attacker had thus long been waiting for.

"What?!"

As she entered a narrow alley, she realized too late her attacker was lying in wait, his axe at the ready.

Though Julis dodged his attack, further in still was yet another attacker, waiting in ambush.

He held in his hands an assault rifle Lux.

"Ugh...!"

Facing that torrent of Lux small arms fire, Julis tucked into a roll that carried her past.

Unbelievable reflexes.

' _Now!_ '

Julis and Ayato caught the black-clothed attacker between them

His peripheral vision caught sight of another shadow, hidden atop a nearby roof.

' _There's three of them...!_ '

Moreover, his target wasn't Julis.

It was Ayato.

The arrow of light flew toward Ayato.

A perfectly-timed sneak attack.

Ayato, caught in mid-air, was unable to dodge, and could only use his Lux's activation body as a shield to ward off the strike.

The arrow glanced off his Lux, skimmed off his clothes, and missed. It had been a narrow miss, and his Lux was now useless to him. Though it was rarely used by him as his equipment had been shipped to a secure location in the city, where he would go to fine both his equipment as well as his team members.

"Fuu..."

It seemed this group of attackers was consciously seeking every opening. Their personalities were rather contemptible indeed.

"Hey, you alright?!"

"More or less, although my clothes are down for the count."

As Julis rushed over, a tense expression on her face, Ayato gave a bitter laugh as he looked around. The attackers were nowhere to be seen.

Honestly, their speed at beating a retreat was unparalleled.

Moreover, they weren't alone. The Le Wolfe students had similarly vanished from the area. Like they weren't even here in the first place to begin with, though the fear they carried of Ayato's cold words and eyes that frightened them.

"...The Star Hunter Guard should be here soon. We should go."

"Can we?"

"We were just defending ourselves, so we need not worry on that point. That said, explaining is just too much of a hassle. Anyway, our hard-fought clues seem to have vanished without a trace, we can't just waste time here."

As Julis spoke, her eyes burned with fury.

"They dared to do this much, and yet we couldn't do a thing. There's no way I'm just going to forget this."

"...Madam Target, would you be so kind as to not do anything stupid?" A small amount of humor was added to the question by the teen next to her.

"Hmph."

That seemed to signify her assent.

'Hmm. I'd better report back to Claudia.'

"By the way, do you still have some time?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I do."

 **~o0o~**

 **Later that day**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

Nightfall was coming soon. Julis gave Ayato a quick look of appraisal.

"Alright then, please follow me to my room for a bit."

"...Huh?"

There was no way he could just openly walk into the girls dorm.

"Pardon me...I hate that I'm so used to this by now."

Ayato again jumped up to Julis' window and entered the room. Not only was this not his first offense, it was clearly his third time entering the dorm room of a girl when it was prohibited and frankly, Ayato could care less at this point.

Was it really possible that the legendary security guards of the girls dorms were yet unaware?

"Ah, you're here. Please wait just a moment."

Julis, who'd returned to her room first, was busy scrounging for something. Ayato knelt in the window-frame, looking in. It was, as expected, rather spacious.

This room was like Claudia's, a Page One special.

The decor of the rooms, however, was decidedly different then Claudia's. The first thing people would notice upon visiting Julis' room was the greenery inside.

The inside was filled with flower pots, almost like an arboretum. Their placement was carefully designed so as not to hinder movement. Several of the flowers were in full bloom, and the sight of them calmed one's mood.

"...Able to just calmly look around like this, things sure are different from last time."

What floated to the top of his mind then was the memory of that pale flesh, that underwear-clad visage-

"Alright! I found it!"

"Sorry...Hmm...what did you find?"

"...Why are you apologizing?" Julis asked, puzzled.

"Uh...it's nothing, More importantly, what did you call me here for?"

It wasn't like he was trying to hide anything; this was an honest question. Although it wasn't yet curfew, the sun had already set and the moon could be seen. Just like during the time with Claudia, finding himself in a young girl's room at night was bad for his mental health.

"Great, let's get started. Please take your shirt off."

"What?"

Ayato simply sighed from his own mind wandering far off from what the girl in front of him meant. His time in this school has changed his mentality for good, and there was no coming back from this.

"Julis?"

"What's the problem? Hurry up..."

Julis suddenly stopped mid-sentence as she realized just how she'd phrased things, before blushing furiously.

"Y-you idiot! G-g-get your mind out of the gutter! I was trying to say I'd help you fix your shirt!"

"Fix my shirt...?"

Ayato finally realized.

The attack from the incident earlier had ruined his clothes.

"Fix my shirt, huh. You know how to sew, Julis?"

"It's not like I'm an expert or anything, but I can at least do that much," Julis answered, frowning.

"It happened because of me. I don't want to owe you anything else."

"Well, if you put it that way. Alright then."

Ayato obediently stripped off his T-shirt.

Julis pulled out a needle, and in a rather haphazard manner, started to sew.

Her technique was undeniably poor, but she'd clearly had some prior experience.

"Let me guess. Your friend taught you that?"

"...Yeah."

Julis never looked up; she simply nodded in the affirmative as she continued to work.

"I can tell."

Ayato watched for a moment longer, and deciding that Julis had things under control, started to look around.

A room entirely different from Claudia's, though just as large. It had been cleaned with great care. Near her bed was placed an ornate desk. In the corner of the desktop sat a vase, filled with roses. By its side was something rarely seen in their time - photographs.

Leaning in for a closer look, Ayato saw what looked to be sisters, girls aged several years apart. From their appearance, it seemed they had lived quite well.

There was, however, one figure who stood out from the rest. She was attired in clothes as plain as the rest, but her bearing was evident even from that still photograph.

Adorning her face was a genuine, brilliant smile, just like the others; her hair, a beautiful rose.

"So Julis, the friends you mentioned... I'm guessing these are them?"

"Hmm...? H-hey you! Don't just look at other people's things without asking!"

Julis stormed over, snatching the photo from out of Ayato's hands.

"The one in the center; it's you, isn't it?"

Julis glared daggers at Ayato before finally sighing and returning the photo to its place atop the desk.

"That's right. Those are my friends."

Having answered, Julis returned to her seat and resumed her needlework.

"Despite how I look now, I was quite the tomboy when I was young."

"How you look now..."

When she was young...? Rather, it should still be the case...

"You have something to add?"

"...Never mind. Don't let me interrupt you."

"...When I was young, I'd often run away from the palace. The reason, more or less, was that I was just bored. Even if I'm of royal blood, we're just a branch family anyway. When they restored the monarchic system in a few European nations, it seems they found that all direct descendants had since passed on, and thus it fell upon us."

Julis' hands never stopped their work as she continued her story.

"One day, however, I ran somewhere particularly far and got lost. As I wandered the roads, I found myself in the slums. Although Lieseltania isn't a dangerous place, but for a well-off young girl to find herself in such a place...well, you can imagine."

"How were your powers back then?"

"Ha. About the level of a cigarette lighter, if that. Absolutely useless. Well, actually, given that I hadn't any combat experience back then, even if my abilities were as they are now, they'd still have been of no value. Anyway, long story short, some rather unsavory types found me, and chased me into alley. All I could do was cry in helplessness. In that circumstance, when all seemed lost, those girls saved me. Can you imagine how I felt at that moment? To me, they were both savior and hero."

Julis voice was filled with emotion.

They weren't just her feelings back then, but had remained so even until now.

"It wasn't until we'd returned to the palace that I learned they were from an orphanage in the slums. Every time I'd leave the palace, I'd head straight there. At first, they were, of course, distant; however, I persisted and we became fast friends."

As she continued to speak, Julis' voice took on an increasingly nostalgic tone.

"Did they know you were a princess?"

"No, I didn't tell them. The Sister knew, though."

"And your family?"

"Of course people talked, but by that time, my parents had already passed, and so I didn't care what they said."

"Then...?"

"Hmm? Oh, you didn't know? The current king of Lieseltania is my elder brother, the previous being my father. Admittedly, my memories of them are rather fuzzy by this point."

"So that's how it is..."

Ayato had lost his mother as well, and thus he well understood how hard it was to know what to say in such a situation.

"Investigating afterwards, I was shocked to find that that orphanage had been founded via a fund that my mother had left behind. I felt it was surely the workings of fate."

Julis' hands suddenly ceased their movement.

"The money she left for the orphanage has long since been exhausted. Every year, new orphans arrive, and so each new year is harder than the last. And so I came here. This time, it's my turn to help them, my turn to protect them. What they need most, after all, is money."

"Wait a minute...money?"

"Let me make something clear. No one asked me to do this. I'm doing this of my own free will, for my own sake. The dream I'm fulfilling is my own."

Julis spoke with great feeling, her determination staunch and resolute.

No wonder no one had asked it of her; she was that kind of girl. The question Ayato wanted answered the most was not that, however.

"That wasn't quite what I was asking. Is there really no other way?"

"Other way?"

"I mean, there's no other way for you to obtain the money you need? Aren't you a princess?"

Julis shrugged, and answered.

"The money belonging to the country isn't for me to spend. Our living expenses are dispensed from a fund with a predetermined use. Our country has long been but a mere puppet of the Integrated Enterprise Foundation; there's not a chance in hell they'd approve the 'wasteful' expenditure of money that would net them nothing in return. That was why the fund my mother left behind was cut in the first place. Our people are decidedly indifferent on the matter."

The Integrated Enterprise Foundation had but one focus, economic activity.

To this end, while the ISD dealt with threats like the current conflicts riddling the world. This company merely controlled where the vast majority of the world's wealth, something that Ayato despised after seeing the conditions of places like Africa, the Middle East, and other places thrown into chaos.

They'd spared no expense in slowly but surely altering public opinion, and slowly but surely making other people think that some weren't saving from the fate they were destined to follow.

That was the founding principle of this city itself.

"They lavish money on my person, but I personally have no money to use as I will. I have to earn it myself. Fortunately, I was born a Strega. Furthermore, my title as a princess helped me find admittance at this school. This ornament of a title definitely has its uses."

Julis mocked herself with a scornful, bitter laugh.

"The existence of this city is repulsive. Students fight, and the world watches. Desire lurks at every corner, and it has grown fat by devouring the dreams of others. And yet it is for that very reason that this is the place where all wishes stand within reach. Here I will make my stand, and here I will realize my dream - that is why I fight."

Ayato understood what she meant however to him, her own innocence is blocking her from seeing that this city was the farthest thing from hell compared to places that he's visited.

He's learned that no matter where you go, evil and good were being twisted to meet what people think is right...

As she finished speaking, Julis laid out the shirt in front of her. It was a little - no, very poorly - done, but it met the minimal standards for repair.

"Good. Now bring this along home with you."

"...Mm. Thank you, Julis."

"This way, we're even."

"Definitely."

This wasn't somewhere it was safe to linger any longer anyway.

At that moment, Ayato noticed another object, folded away in the corner of the desktop. A handkerchief.

That handkerchief had brought the two together. Ayato now understood just where that handkerchief had come from. Julis followed his gaze, and smiled as she gently took the handkerchief into her hands.

"This is something my friends at the orphanage gave me on my birthday. It's a joint work by everyone there. This ugly part was done by my best friend."

The other party was, without a doubt, a most important person to Julis.

Smiling bashfully, "this is my treasure," she said, returning it to its place.

That sad smile filled Ayato's heart with pain.

An important existence, one that must be protected - a life calling.

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

Putting on his shirt, Ayato waved farewell, and jumped through the window.

' _...A reason for fighting, was it?_ '

Ayato muttered to himself deep within his heart.

* * *

 **This story is becoming something else now!**

 **Welp, time for the next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

" _Once we have a war there is only one thing to do. It must be won. For defeat brings worse things than any that can ever happen in war._ " - Ernest Hemingway

* * *

 **Three weeks later**

 **May 23rd, 2025**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"What's the matter, Amagiri? You've been in a daze all morning."

It wasn't until Eishirou, walking by his side, shouted, that Ayato finally came to.

"...Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

He waved off the concern, putting on a smile for show.

"...Fine. Have it your way. You know you've been acting up ever since last night?"

"I'm just a little tired is all. Anyway, let's hurry up or we'll be late."

"No need to rush. We should be good on time."

Even if he said that, the hallways were already clear of students.

Indeed, they arrived at their destination without a moment to spare.

"I even tried to wake you up, but you went straight back to sleep! That's the only reason we had to rush."

"What's the big deal? We made it on time, didn't we?"

"That's not the problem...Oh, morning, Julis."

"Julis?"

She seemed to have phased out and didn't respond to his greeting.

"Eh? Oh, morning."

Flustered, she hid a letter she held in hand in a hurry, and avoided meeting his gaze.

"Alright, alright, everyone please be seated! I'm going to take attendance now."

Though Ayato was concerned about Julis, with Kyouko's bloodlust permeating the classroom, he didn't dare follow up on that concern. Julis didn't get any better as class started. She didn't pay any attention during class, seemingly distracted by something else.

The mercenary was a little worried by what her behavior was telling him. To him, she was acting like there was something that needed to be done by her, and no else. This worried the mercenary greatly.

"Everything alright, Julis?"

After school, Ayato found an opportune moment to approach Julis, but she wouldn't face him.

"...Sorry, I have something to do."

"Huh? hey wait a sec, Julis?"

With Julis deliberately ignoring his attempts to get her attention, he could only watch helplessly as she left the room.

"What just happened...?"

"Oh, how awful. She seems to have returned to her old self."

"Old self...?"

Eishirou leaned in conspiratorially and answered his question.

"Before you came, that's how the Princess always acted. She gave off this aura of 'don't concern yourself with me'. Here I was, thinking things had finally take a turn for the better, but it looks like we're back to square one."

While Ayato was still worried about Julis, he figured it best to report back to Claudia about yesterday's incident. He could also use the opportunity to ask her her thoughts on Julis and besides, he hadn't seen her in days.

His relationship with Claudia was one of confusion as he didn't know where they stood. To him, there was something between them that had changed where their feelings were expressed to the other one. Romantically, there was something there...

Possibly...lovers? Close friends?

While when it came to Julis, there was something there...

The mercenary just couldn't figure out what it was. He wanted to protect the girl from harm as he saw nothing, but the will to fight in her. Like there wasn't anything in the universe that could stop her from achieving her goals.

All that mattered Ayato was to keep both Claudia and Julis safe. It was clear to him, that Claudia and Julis had both held a place in his dark and damaged heart.

Nothing would change that...

No one on this world could ever change that...

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 6: New Enemies Rise**

 **Seidukan Academy, Asterisk City**

"My, Ayato...I wasn't expecting to see you. How can I help you?"

As he entered the student council room, Claudia stood up from her desk and greeted him with a smile. The raven haired soldier approached her desk, and didn't hesitate towards wrapping his arms around Claudia's waist. The same could be said about the girl as she laid her head against his chest. Basking in the few times of intimacy between the two of them.

He soon started speaking about what had happened back a few weeks ago.

"They came looking for us again yesterday."

"So I hear. It seems they employed Le Wolfe students this time around."

"Word travels fast."

That wasn't what needed to be discussed, though.

"...More importantly, I've got a number on our mysterious assailant."

His words took Claudia by surprise.

"Truly?"

"Yes, I'm pretty sure I'm right."

Leaning in, he whispered his conjecture into her ear. She paused for a moment, deep in thought.

"Now I get it... OK. I'll look into it. I hope everything goes smoothly..."

The worried expression on her face didn't disappear. She knew he could hold his own against just about anybody, he was her lover so it was only natural for her to have some amount of concern for him. She didn't care about him being another dog of war, just as long as he would care for her...nothing else mattered.

Noticing a look of concern on his face, she asked him.

"Something wrong? Did Julis figure it out as well?"

"It's not like I've confirmed it with her, but I don't think she'd have missed it."

"Where is she now?" Claudia asked

"She said she had something to do, she had to go first...Shit!"

Ayato finally connected the dots. Given Julis' personality, and the fact that she'd likely realized who the culprit was after reading the letter in class, there was no way she'd just let things end there. It wasn't in her nature to take advantage of this opportunity.

"...It seems this time things have gotten a little troublesome."

"But what do we do now? Without evidence, the culprit can just lie about their role in things..."

"No, with things having reached this point, they can't pretend nothing's happened anymore. More than likely, they'll try to silence Julis personally..."

"Don't tell me - That letter from this morning!"

"Letter?"

Claudia wondered what letter he was talking about right now.

"When I came in this morning, Julis was reading a letter. She was quite intent on hiding it, so I was rather suspicious."

Claudia paled.

"We need to find Julis now."

"But where do we look?"

Even if Asterisk was an artificial-island, it wasn't small by any means. An uninformed search would be no more fruitful than searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Let's first check whether or not she headed back to her room. If the culprit was indeed the one to call her out, then they'll likely have chosen somewhere off the beaten path, where people aren't likely to walk by. That should help us narrow our search."

Claudia pulled up a map of Asterisk.

"...Ah, wait a moment."

Ayato's phone suddenly rang.

Thinking it was Julis, he frantically answered.

" _...Ayato, save me._ "

Unfortunately, the voice came from none other than a frowning, frustrated Saya.

"Saya? What's wrong?"

" _I'm lost._ "

This clear-cut answer gave Ayato a headache.

"You're lost again? ... I'm sorry, but I have more important things to worry about right now; I need to find Julis at the moment..."

" _...Riessfeld? I just saw her a few minutes ago._ "

Ayato and Claudia traded glances.

"Really?"

Saya nodded in the affirmative.

"Saya! Tell me, where did you see her last? Or rather, where are you now?!"

" _...If I knew where I was, I wouldn't need your help, now would I?_ "

Right.

"Excuse me, Sasamiya. Would you mind moving the camera around a bit so I can see your surroundings?"

Saya was slightly confused by Claudia's request, but she nonetheless did as asked.

"That's just outside the redevelopment zone. Between here and there, there aren't too many options. That narrows things quite a bit."

That was Claudia for you, a simple glance was sufficient. Granted, Ayato figured that a redevelopment zone was a perfect place to commit an act of murder without being caught by the local authority in the city.

"Thanks, Saya. You really saved our asses."

" _...I still need to be saved._ "

"Oh, that's right. Hmm..."

Ayato was torn. On one hand, he felt he should go get Saya, on the other hand, if the attacker really had called out Julis, she was in grave danger. Even if he gave Saya directions, however, it was unlikely she'd be able to arrive safely.

Seeing that he wanted to go find Julis, Claudia spoke up.

"I'll go pick up Sasamiya. Ayato, you go to Julis."

"Sorry about this Claudia, and thanks."

"None needed. Just don't get hurt my love..."

Claudia smiled charmingly, and marked a potential spot on the map. Although she still worked with remarkable efficiency, since she lacked her usual calm demeanor, the anxiety she felt was clear as day. Ayato could even feel it.

"...Why didn't Julis say anything?"

Julis' personality was such that she hated to rely on anyone else. Unfortunately, however, that same tendency had created this very problem...

"As expected, I guess she doesn't feel she can rely on me, huh?"

"Precisely the opposite."

Overhearing Ayato's mutter, Claudia, still focused on the map, laughed.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Didn't I say this before? That girl will go all out to protect the things she holds dear. It seems you now fall under that category."

"Protect... me...?"

At that moment, it finally all came together for Ayato.

He felt enlightened; it had finally all become clear.

"I see now..."

He thought of that summer night.

Of his sister's words: that she'd protect him.

Of his words: that he'd protect her.

Though he'd failed to keep that promise...and he hated himself for it...

"...So it's really that simple."

He finally knew.

What his 'mission' in life was.

"Got it. I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Claudia shouted in elation at that moment, and forwarded the map to his phone.

"Great!"

He'd best start with the closest location first.

"Oh, wait just a second. Before you go..."

As Ayato prepared to dash off like a bullet, Claudia called him back.

"...'That' is ready. Please take it with you."

He smiled as he saw the object thrown towards him.

 **~o0o~**

 **An hour later**

 **Asterisk City, Redevelopment Zone**

At the same time, Julis arrived at an abandoned building in the redevelopment zone.

The building, in the process of being torn down, was enshrouded in the murky darkness of dusk. Some of the walls and flooring had already been broken down, and the area looked quite open. However, the piles of scattered rubble and debris left much hidden from view.

But Julis, unhesitating, entered without pausing. The light of the setting sun, cast a strange shadow on the interior of the building. Julis wore a grim expression as she silently walked in.

Just as Julis entered the deepest part of the building, a pile of rubble, piled nigh to the ceiling, suddenly fell without warning. The pile was large enough to easily flatten a young girl like nothing so much as a pancake, but Julis didn't even bother to look up as she spoke.

"Bloom proudly - Red Crown; Parasol Flower of Isolation."

Appearing above Julis' head was a pentagonal-shaped flower which diverted everything which fell. Its appearance was that of an umbrella formed of flame.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you? You'd better show your face... Cyrus Norman."

The moonlight shone on the ceiling leading directly to the roof.

The deflected girders pierced into the floor. As dust scattered from the impact, a young man slowly revealed himself.

"How rude. Aren't I allowed to have my fun?"

The slim young man - Cyrus Norman - mockingly dipped his head in a bow.

"I have to say I'm surprised. I never would have expected that you'd uncover my identity."

"That's your own fault. You let it slip yesterday."

"Yesterday, you say? And pray tell, just when did I do that?"

Cyrus tilted his head, questioning.

Julis maintained her calm demeanor and answered.

"Yesterday, when we ran into one another in the business district, Ayato was taking jabs at Lester. At that point, in order to defend him, you said something: 'Everyone knows you aren't the kind of person who'd ambush someone during a duel'."

"...And what of it?"

"How would you know that the attacker was someone who ambushed others? The first attack - during the duel between Ayato and myself - was never mentioned in the news."

"The second time was definitely in the news, though. I saw it myself."

"You're right, it was definitely mentioned in the news. However, the news only said that I repelled an attacker. Not only did it not mention that Sasamiya was present, it didn't even mention her name. That really was stupid; she was, after all, the one who fought off you guys."

Cyrus continued to stare at Julis with an unfathomable look in his eyes.

"You still don't understand? The news never mentioned a third party. How could you know that I'd been 'ambushed during a duel' unless you'd either personally seen that duel ongoing or heard from someone who had? Either way, you're guilty."

"Ugh...what a blunder. Let me guess, that guy provoking Lester... that was all on purpose, right?"

"That's quite probable. That much he's capable of."

Julis stuck her chest out proudly.

"Hmm...It looks like my decision to switch targets to him was correct after all. If I continued after you, he'd only get in the way."

"What?! You...!"

"Hehehe. You see, I already knew. The reason you came here was to make sure I wouldn't get away with it."

Cyrus leisurely spread his hands like a magician as Julis gritted her teeth.

This morning, she'd found a letter stuffed into her desk. It read, "The next target will be the one closest to you. If you don't want to see that happen, come to this location."

"Hurry up and finish whatever it is you want to say."

"What's the rush? If you ask me, we should talk this over, like adults. That's why I called you out here, after all."

"Even now, you're just going to continue to spew this bullshit? Just cut the crap already." Julis didn't care for manners and simply wanted to get this over with as waiting around is something she wasn't in the mood for.

"No, no, no. You don't understand. I'm very serious here. I have no great desire to engage in a direct confrontation with you either."

Cyrus gave a seemingly frantic explanation, though his tone was as unhurried as before.

Before making her way here, Julis had investigated a little. Cyrus wasn't listed in the Named Charts, and had never participated in a ranking match before. His strength was an unknown quantity.

Moreover, there had verifiably been at least three attackers. Even if one of the black-clothed assailants was Cyrus, that still left two more.

"...I understand. I'll at least hear you out."

Julis figured it best to let her opponent reveal as much of his hand as possible.

"That's better. To be honest, we're the same, you know? You and I. Our goal in coming here is money. For that reason, I've always thought we'd make quite the team."

Cyrus nodded his head, an egotistical smile on his face.

"I think you already know what it is I want - forget about trying to register for the Phoenix. The other thing would be for you to forget about this entire incident."

"And what's in it for me?"

"Is the continued well being of you and Amagiri Ayato not enough for you?"

"You must be joking."

Julis bluntly refused.

"All I need to do is kick your ass right here, and call it good. Anyway, even if I did keep things secret for you, I'm pretty sure the student council has already puzzled out what's been going on."

"I'm not worried on that count. There is, after all, not a whit of evidence against me."

"You seem pretty sure of that."

"It's a fact."

Cyrus and Julis traded glares.

At that moment, a deep and furious roar came broke their silent standoff.

"What the hell is this, Cyrus?!"

"...Lester?"

Striding in with a heavy step was none other than Lester McPhail.

Julis prepared herself for an incoming attack, but none was forthcoming. Lester's rage was not directed at her, but at Cyrus.

"Geez, you've really made us wait, Lester."

"I came because I'd heard that Julis had finally accept my request for a duel, but... was what I just heard the truth? The one who ambushed Julis was you?"

It seemed he'd overheard their conversation.

"Yes, that's right. What of it?"

"The hell do you think you're doing?! How could you do something like this!?"

"I don't know how to answer you except to say I was entrusted with this charge."

"Entrusted...?"

To Lester's expression, already a mix of shock and outrage, was added another emotion - confusion.

If this was an act, he could win an Oscar for this performance. Julis knew, however, that Lester wasn't that kind of scheming person. Sighing, Julis spoke.

"I'm not sure which school he's working for, but he's attacked students intent on entering the Phoenix at least several times before. You weren't aware?"

Lester was unable to speak from his shock at what had been said in front of him. From what he'd thought he'd known about him, Cyrus was a rather obedient subordinate to him.

However, that did nothing to dispel the reality of Cyrus openly sneering at him as he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm different from you, who never employs any stratagem in battle. If there's a way to earn money without putting myself in harm's way, isn't that best?"

"Even if it means selling out your own schoolmates?"

"Schoolmates? Haha, don't make me laugh." He started laughing like it was a joke.

Cyrus laughed as he shook his head.

"Those who gather here are all enemies, no? Sure, there are times when you might work together for a team or partner battle, but aside from that, this is a dog-eat-dog world. You of the Top Twelve ought to be more than familiar with that fact, no? Life and death struggles. Victories obtained via blood, sweat, and tears. A hard-fought and harder-kept position. And for what? All that just to live your life constantly being targeted by others? I say no thanks. If I can earn the same kind of money without ever having to stick my neck out...isn't that just called using your brain?"

"...It's not like what you said is wrong. Even if we are schoolmates, it's not like we're life partners here. In order to stand at the top, you must grasp whatever opportunity arises, and spare no expense."

His response was one that a coward, but a smart one, would use in order to get by in life.

"Oi, Julis...!"

Giving a seemingly heartfelt response, Lester frowned.

"But...don't think for a second what you said is right, either."

"Oh my, how unexpected. I was sure you and I were of the same mind."

"Unexpected for me as well. I never would have guessed that you'd even think of mentioning me in the same sentence as you, you bastard."

Julis seemed to tire of their banter, as she began to glare at Cyrus.

Lester cut in.

"Before I beat the shit out of you, there's something I want to ask first. Why did you call me out here? Did you really think that I was going to agree with you? If that's the case, then all I can say is your stupidity is without limit."

"No, no, no. It's you who's the idiot here. You're my backup plan. In case negotiations with Julis failed, I need a scapegoat to take the fall for me."

"...You stupid piece of shit. You really think I'm going to just listen to you?"

"Oh, no worries. After I'm done here, it's not like the two of you will be able to say a word. I'll just throw a few excuses here and there, and that'll be that. For example, 'refusing to budge an inch, they fought to their very limits before both falling victim to their wounds.' Sounds good, doesn't it?"

Those words seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. Lester lost all semblance of reason.

"Alright then. If you really think you can silence me, go ahead and try. Let's see what you've got!"

As he spoke, Lester pulled out his Lux, Bardiche Leo, which was almost as large as he was.

"Lester, don't rush things. I'm sure he's got traps in place. For better or worse, he is a Dante," Julis said, without letting her guard down around Lester. In this situation, however, she didn't have the option of simply ignoring him.

Utterly ignoring her words, Lester leapt forward, closing the gap between Cyrus and himself in an instant. The enormous axe of light swung down with vigor.

"Die!"

Suddenly...

"What?!"

A brawny black shadow dropped down between them, obstructing Lester's vicious attack.

Barehanded, as a matter of fact.

Blocking his blow barehanded was frightening enough already, but even as Lester began to exert the full might of his physique, the other party refused to so much as budge. Lester, confident in the fact that his physical strength was preeminent at Seidoukan Academy, was astonished beyond belief.

Despite his shock, he still jumped back, putting some distance between them.

"Hmph. I see, so that's your companion?"

"Companion? Haha. Honestly, please try to keep up."

Cyrus snapped his fingers. Immediately, two more black-garbed assailants joined the first.

"...Allow me to introduce my puppets. Cute, aren't they?"

The attackers proceeded to strip off their clothing.

Hidden underneath were what were undeniably puppets.

There were empty sockets where their eyes should have been, and they lacked any hint of either a nose or mouth. Most notably, their bodies were entirely smooth, and spheres took the place of joints.

Although while, strictly speaking, they were humanoid, the discrepancies proved highly disturbing.

"Combat replicants...?"

Combat replicants were indeed very practical on the battlefield, but their use required specialized equipment. It was highly unlikely that such complicated machinery was at work here. It wasn't impossible, technically; however, to accomplish such completely in secret here in Asterisk might as well have been.

"Please don't compare that sort of crude garbage with my puppets, OK? They don't have any machinery in them whatsoever."

If that was true, then there was no way they could move.

And yet, the evidence stood before them. Not only could they move, but their movements were incredibly life-like.

"...I see. This is your true ability as a Dante, isn't it?"

The reason she'd never been able to sense their presence was finally clear: her opponents were inanimate objects. They were naturally incapable of feeling bloodlust, and so she had been unable to sense such from them.

"You tricky bastard, so you still had this up your sleeve...! Didn't you tell everyone that the extent of your ability was controlling swords...?"

"Can you seriously be this stupid? Hahahaha. Oh man, this is too funny. Anyway, try and think about this for a moment - what kind of moron freely reveals his trump card?"

Cyrus threw up his hands in an exaggerated shrug.

"Lester, you got it. My ability allows me to use Mana to exert control over any inanimate object bearing my mark. As long as it's inanimate, even something as complex as these puppets will heed my will. Of course, no one in this school has heard this before."

Julis began to understand the reason for his boundless confidence.

"The reason you use puppets in your ambushes is because no one knows about your ability. They'd never guess it was you."

This would always give him the perfect alibi. Using this ability made things perfectly simple. As long as it fell within the operational reach of his powers, he'd never need to appear himself. If his puppets wore cameras, then he could follow the situation from afar.

If a Strega or Dante were to commit crimes with such an ability, they'd be extremely hard to catch. Accordingly, those with abilities of this type were usually required to register themselves into the city's registration.

"Whatever! All I have to do is kick your ass here, and hand your ass over to the disciplinary committee or the Star Hunter Guard. Problem solved."

"Let's see whether or not you two make it out of here in one piece first, OK?"

"That's fine with me. Allow me to show you my true strength...!"

As Lester concentrated his Prana, the light blades of Leo Bardiche grew to double their former size. Julis had already witnessed this on many previous occasions; this was Lester's Meteor Arts.

The battle-Axe was now closer in appearance to a giant war hammer.

"Take this! Burst Nemea!"

Lester howled as he struck with his full might, blowing the three puppets away.

With a horrifying boom, the puppets crashed into a pillar, shattering into splinters and cracking the affected pillar.

Of the three puppets, two were utterly destroyed. Their arms and legs were snapped clean off, their bodies twisted in a sickening posture.

The brawny puppet appeared mostly unharmed, however; its body showing only faint traces of cracks. Removing itself from the pillar, it nonchalantly faced Lester down once more.

"Cheh. Rather tenacious bastard, aren't you?" Lester muttered out of the corner of his mouth, his confidence seemingly waning.

"This is an especially sturdy type designed especially to handle you, Lester-san. Its defensive abilities are quite something. Both its physique and armament were designed to imitate you, so that it could take your place if necessary."

"In order to frame me, I assume? That would make the one with a bow a copy of Landy?"

"As you say."

"Heh, you've really thought this through. Too bad for you your effort's all going to go to waste!"

Lester again swung Bardiche Leo.

Just as its blade was about to cut into the puppet before him

Two more puppets appeared from behind the pillar, firing at Lester in a torrent of small arms fire.

"Urgh!"

"Lester!"

Julis, unable to restrain herself any longer, attempted to dash to his side, only to be be obstructed by yet another newly-appearing puppet.

Three more puppets still surrounded Julis. They were slightly different from the others in that they were dressed entirely in black.

All wielded a sword-type Lux.

Julis didn't dare do differently, activating her rapier-type Lux "Aspera Spina".

"Hmph...I should have guessed. You always rely on this kind of contemptible tactic, after all...!"

Lester, kneeling on a single knee in seemingly great pain, glared at Cyrus.

"Wow, still so lively."

He appeared to have focused all his Prana on defense at the moment of ambush. Although he was bleeding heavily, his will to fight didn't seem to have decreased one bit.

That said, it wasn't like Prana was limitless. Once his Prana was exhausted, he would fade into unconsciousness.

In this situation, however, it wasn't just his consciousness that might fade, but the flames of his life.

"I-It doesn't matter how many puppets you bring out, they're nothing to me..."

"Honestly, Lester-san. You really just don't get it, do you?"

In the next instant, more puppets dropped down before Lester's eyes.

One after another they came, jumping down from the ceiling two or three at a time. Lester watched the scene unfolding before his eyes first with malice, then with shock, and finally with terror. Julis, originally planning to break through the puppets encircling her, was left similarly frozen speechless.

In front of their very eyes stood not just ten or twenty puppets. No, the number was closer to...

"It 'doesn't matter how many puppets I bring out'? Alright then, I'm game. The maximum number of puppets I can control at any given time is one hundred and twenty-eight."

"One hundred..."

Julis reached for her weapon and began using the abilities at her disposal. She knew that at this moment, it was a difficult spot to be in as Lester was completely out of the fight at hand. It was up to her to make sure that Norman is stopped.

Lester revealed an expression fraught with deep despair. Cyrus looked down at him with glee and cleared his throat.

"Oh... the expressions on your faces! This is it, this is what I wanted to see! Alright, I am going to savor this."

Cyrus waved a hand. All the puppets simultaneously charged Lester.

"Stop this, Cyrus!"

Julis tried to forcibly break through her surrounding puppets, but their numbers were too vast by far. While individually they were nothing special, their coordination was remarkable.

From behind Cyrus' giggling visage, Julis could hear the occasional miserable scream, but soon enough, even those ceased.

"Hey, no need to rush, alright? Feel free to struggle all you want. I need to make it look you were the one who took Lester-san out, so I need to prepare the scene just right."

"Bloom Proudly - Antirrhinum Majus Snapping Firebloom of the Engulfing Dragon!"

Things having reached this point, Julis' personality wasn't so laid-back as to simply allow Cyrus to continue talking. Tracing the orbit that Julis weaved with her Lux, magic circles began to appear from which an intense heat burst forth. Immediately following was an enormous dragon of flame which appeared as if bursting forth from a magic circle.

"Ooh, that's a new one on me."

Cyrus mumbled his admiration. This was natural, as this technique was one of Julis' trump cards. There's no way she'd casually allows others to witness it. The roar of the flame dragon shook the very air. Immediately following, it crushed the puppets encircling Julis in its jaws.

"Uwa?!"

Although the puppets were all flame-retardant in preparation for the battle with Julis, that didn't provide the least protection against the overwhelming force with which they were being crushed.

"Amazing. It looks like that fifth rank isn't just for show..."

Cyrus opened some distance between them and snapped his fingers once more.

"But, in the end, quantity over quality!"

Five puppets bored through the dragon's lower jaw, encircling and attacking Julis once more.

"Tch!"

Julis raised her Lux to meet them head-on. However, since the majority of her attention was focused on controlling the dragon, her reactions were slower than normal.

She barely blocked an attack that nearly cleaved her in half. The tip of her Lux began to erupt with a blinding light.

"Don't look down on me!"

Julis kicked the chest of the puppet before her with force, dodged the weapon of the puppet who had snuck behind her, and thrust clear through it with her Lux.

Unfortunately.

The puppet wasn't in the least affected as it grabbed a hold of Julis.

"What!? A kamikaze attack?!"

"Hehehe. Rather effective isn't it?"

As he spoke, the row of puppets by Cyrus' side took aim.

Julis called her dragon to her to ward off her attack, but she was a second too late.

"Guah!?"

Streaks of light flew at her and pierced her thigh.

Unable to stand, Julis fell to her knees. Two puppets grabbed her by her arms and pinned her to the wall.

At the same moment, her flame dragon faded into nothingness.

"Your ability really is quite powerful, but it sure has a problematic weakness. It's limited to what you can see with your eyes."

"...You really are some stalker..."

Julis struggling with the pain, taunted him with a smile.

"But you know, I've figured out something myself."

"And what is that?"

"Allekant's the one pulling your strings."

Cyrus' smile vanished.

"You just mentioned it, didn't you? That these puppets were 'specially designed'. These designs, specifically intended to counter Lester and I...how did you come by them? To say nothing of the sheer number. Simply put, there's no way they could have come from any other school."

"You really are too smart for your own good. Oh well, all you've done is reaffirmed that I really can't let you go."

"Bullcrap. Like you ever planned to let me go."

Cyrus approached Julis, and stomped on her thigh wound with great animosity.

"Guwaah!"

"Hehe, don't worry; the pain will end soon. Originally, I'd planned to torment you a bit more, but it seems I'd best get this over with."

Cyrus turned his back on Julis, groaning in pain, and raised his hand.

She saw the brawny puppet approach her, gigantic Axe in hand, ready to hack her open.

She couldn't bear to watch any further, and closed her eyes.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew past her.

A wind both gentle and carefree, and yet with all the ferocity of a gale-force wind.

"Sorry I'm late."

Shocked, Julis opened her eyes. In front of her stood a young man who had no place being here. Instead of wearing the school's uniform, he had on a combat uniform that was comprised of a pair of digital camo pants, black combat boots and a gray long-sleeved military jacket with a tactical vest covering the shirt. He had leg rigs attached to his thighs with handguns placed inside. Julis even noticed a pair of black headphones around his neck.

On his back was a sword scabbard. Assuming that this sword was built using normal material, yet there was something about it that made it feel different from any other sword she has seen in her lifetime.

Julis couldn't even understand where Ayato got this stuff from. Some of these objects were military equipment, in her mind, what would he ever need these things for?

In his right hand he gripped a sword of Japanese design, but the design was different.

"Ayato?!"

As Julis screamed his name, the Axe-wielding puppet crumpled.

At precisely the same moment, the puppets holding her did the same, their bodies sliding apart where they had been severed in half.

"Wh-What are you doing here...?"

Ayato held her in his arms.

As relief flooded through her, a complicated mix of joy and embarrassment bubbled up in her heart.

"Thanks to Saya and Claudia."

"Sasamiya and Claudia...?"

No, that's not what was important here.

"Don't tell me you came here to save me?"

"...Isn't that what just happened?"

Julis couldn't help but be enraged by his words.

Didn't he know for whose sake it was she had braved her loneliness to make her way here? She had to be honest with herself. This bright, kind-hearted young man was someone incredibly dear to her. And yet it was for that very reason that she hadn't wanted him to get caught up in this.

"This is my problem, it's none of your business! Why would you intentionally put yourself in harm's way?!"

Speaking the words that floated up from deep within him, Ayato responded openly.

"Julis, you said before that you were fighting of your own accord, for your own sake? That protecting that orphanage was something you yourself desired to do?"

"...That's right."

Julis was slightly taken aback by the sudden change in topic, but she nodded.

"I honestly find that admirable. It's just that..."

Pausing his words for a moment, Ayato turned to look Julis in the eyes before continuing.

"I always think to myself at time...Who's going to protect you?"

"Protect, me...?"

Julis had never before considered this question.

All that she was had been for the sake of protecting that which was dear to her. Every spare moment had been spent toward achieving this very goal she had set for herself. To take the reins of the future, to ensure that tragedy never repeated itself, she'd devoted her very being.

And that was why...

"Did you know, Julis? I've always been searching. Always seeking. In pursuit of that which only I can do, that which I want to do, that which I must do - a purpose to the dark life I lead. Ever since the disappearance of my sister to me above all else disappeared, I've never stopped looking. It wasn't until I came here - until I met you - that I've finally found what I've been chasing after."

Ayato's voice was filled with deep longing, as if bidding a dear friend, or lover farewell.

"Now I know what I want to do - and I have the power to make it happen. This, is my calling..."

"Your... calling?

"I will be your strength. Just that."

Ayato nodded lightly as a smile lit his face.

The eyes that met Julis' were open and sincere. Fathomless and dark, eyes like the boundless night sky. She finally saw the pain and suffering that Ayato never once showed to her, and now that she was seeing it...

Julis realized the darkness that plagued the young man carrying her, the years of searching...trying to find something to fill his life. It made her appreciate what Ayato was doing for her, and now she wanted to return the favor...

Just then...

She felt her heart begin to pound. Although slightly painful, it was a mysterious feeling which filled her with joy.

This was something she'd never experienced before, an emotion which surged with great force...

"Are you two done? Man, I never would have guessed you'd show up here...Amagiri Ayato. Seeing as you've never fought anyone since your first day here, it was impossible to think that you would be a factor in this."

The voice pulled Julis back to her senses. She saw Cyrus give an exaggerated shrug.

He was as unperturbed as ever. Even if three of his puppets had been destroyed in an instant, he wasn't unnerved in the slightest.

Brimming with confidence, even if Ayato had now joined the game, he was sure the victor had remained unchanged.

"I must wonder what type of sword that is, the ability to cut through my puppets without even being a Lux Shining Armament. It truly is something to behold. And yet, you do not even bother to use the sword Ser-Versta at your disposal."

Ser-Versta was a name that even Julis had heard of before. It was a prized possession of Seidoukan Academy, a first-rate Ogre Lux which hid a terrifying ability to burn through anything it touches while filling it's user with power unlike anything seen before.

Truly a demon sword indeed.

However, the blade in Ayato's hand looked modern and simple with a very thin line of color wrapping around the edge of the blade.

The blade was sleek and looked sharp enough to cut through anything, it was terrifying to know a normal weapon could affect technology that couldn't ever possibly to be harmed.

"Unfortunately, such a weapon is wasted on a second-rate owner like yourself. Ayato, I've already watched you fight. People with your mediocre level of ability are a dime a dozen. Your success just now was only because you took me by surprise. Faced with my army of over a hundred puppets, what can you possibly hope to achieve..."

"...Shut your damn mouth. The despicable coward who attacks others by surprise is you, Cyrus Norman. I've killed enough of you spineless worms before, that another won't make a difference."

It was almost impossible to believe such a cold and unfeeling reply had come from Ayato.

Intimidated, Cyrus retreated a step.

As he realized what he'd unconsciously done, his face twisted with rage.

"...You sure talk big, but why don't we see if you can back that up?"

Cyrus again snapped his fingers, and once more, the ranks of his puppet army readied their weapons.

"If you have what it takes to face off against an entire army, then bring it!"

Bullets of light flew from all directions as puppets wielding Lux swords, axes, and guns attacked all at once.

However.

"...You want to see what I'm capable of, then you're going to get to see that. I hope your blood is on my blade before the end of today Norman..."

At that precise moment, Julis saw.

Ayato's face showed a bitter expression. At first, she'd figured he was simply raising his Prana to its limits. Instead, she saw magic circles floating all around him, which sparkled into nothingness. A breathtaking surge of Prana was released, becoming a pillar of light that touched the heavens.

Almost as if the chains that bound him had been undone.

A moment later, he disappeared from Norman's view.

"Wha...?"

Cyrus mouthed wordlessly as he watched the puppets that had attacked Ayato fall apart. Looking at the fallen bodies, it wasn't so much that they'd been cleaved in half by a blade as that they'd been burned clear through by tremendous heat.

Cyrus stood unmoving, completely at a loss to explain what was occurring before his very eyes, as he continued to stare at the location Ayato had previously occupied.

"...How! How is this possible!?"

Finally coming to his senses, Cyrus surveyed the situation.

"Wh-Where did you disappear to now!?"

"I'm right here."

Ayato stood behind him.

Grasping Julis tightly with his arm, he'd appeared behind Cyrus in an instant. His path was made evident by the trail of bodies.

Julis watched the scenery before her change like channels on a television as she realized just what kind of inconceivable speed she was being made witness to.

"Y-Y-You...!"

Ashen-faced, Cyrus turned and staggered backward.

Before him stood a young man, a giant sword in his right hand, Julis in his left. His entire body overflowed with a force of Prana so dense it was nearly visible.

"Wh-What are you...?"

Julis was similarly stunned speechless, but recovering her senses, she started to struggle.

"A-actually, let me go! I don't want to be a burden on you!"

It didn't matter how light she was, holding a person in your arms as you fought was bound to negatively affect your combat ability.

This was even more true since it forced Ayato to wield his powerful blade single-handed. The burden created by doing so couldn't be underestimated.

"No. If I were to put you down, he'd undoubtedly go after you. I'm sorry, but please bear with it for a moment longer."

"But then you can't use your other arm...!"

"There's no need to worry. You wouldn't believe how light this sword is."

Ayato waved his sword 'Valkyrie' in a couple different ways. Along the blade, clear as snow, a trace of black began to show. Rather, it should be said that the trace of black actually left the blade, coiling around its body.

The thought that naturally came to Julis' mind was of the blackened flames of hell, leaking through their seal. Perhaps that was the origin of this weapon's name.

"Although, even if I say that, I really can't maintain this for too long. Not that it matters when it comes to opponents of this level, though."

Ayato again advanced toward Cyrus.

"Uu...! It seems like you've got some skills, but don't underestimate me!"

Cyrus tried to give the appearance of having maintained his calm, but it was obvious he was deeply worried.

"Let me show you what I'm really capable of...!"

The ranks of puppets which had fallen into disarray, again organized themselves into an orderly formation.

The first ranks held those which were armed with spears, axes, and other long-range melee weapons. The middle ranks were composed of those puppets with swords, and the final ranks were armed with guns and bows. Cyrus stood at the rear, directing his forces.

"This is the true form of my Merciless Puppet Army! Its destructive power is equal to that of a military company; if you want to challenge it, go right ahead!"

The first ranks suddenly charged forward.

Ayato dodged the tip of a spear which came lancing towards him, but arrows had already targeted his reaction. Ayato blocked them with 'Valkyrie', at which point the sword-wielding puppets attacked him.

"Uwah!"

Ayato again avoided an attack before leaping backwards.

Julis finally took a breath.

The succession of attacks had only missed her by a hair. Ayato wasn't clutching her with his full strength, but nonetheless, their intimate proximity had Julis blushing.

Julis scolded herself for allowing her imagination to run wild at a time like this, but it couldn't be helped.

"To think you would actually avoid all that... That said, it's all you can do just to dodge, isn't it?"

Watching Ayato defend himself, Cyrus began to recover some of his former confidence, as he bared a mocking grin.

"Ah, about that. After that attack just now, I understand everything."

"...And what is it that has you so enlightened?"

"Six types, right? That's the most you can move at once."

"What?!"

Cyrus frowned in disbelief.

"And here I thought you were going to say something profound. Are you blind? Am I not moving more than one hundred puppets right before your very eyes?"

"It's precisely because I'm not blind; all you have to do is look. Only six types are capable of independent movement. Those capable of following some basic patterns are around sixteen at most, and the remaining are only capable of pulling triggers and waving their wrists; that kind of simple motion."

"That's only good enough for a bluff. Now I see why you always have to rely on sneak attacks. Were you to try and use this sort of crude ability in a real match, you'd be seen through."

Cyrus, paling, began to tremble.

His reaction was enough to verify that Ayato's words had been spot-on.

"You know, speaking of six types and sixteen puppets...your ability uses the imagery of chess, doesn't it?"

"Chess, that's it!"

Generally speaking, the abilities of the Strega and Dante were modeled after real objects. Just as Julis' abilities used flowers as a focus, it seems Cyrus' abilities mimicked chess pieces.

As Julis nodded, she was simultaneously filled with admiration for Ayato's impeccable powers of observation.

If that short engagement had been enough for his secret to be seen through, then it was clear that Ayato was many levels above Cyrus.

"You probably saw yourself as a grandmaster - but that's not how this game is played."

"You... bastard...!"

Flushed completely red, Cyrus howled in rage.

The front ranks of puppets again charged forward, but this time Ayato didn't dodge. Instead, Ayato strided toward the dense mass of the puppet army, and swung his sword.

As the light flashed, three lance-wielding puppets fell to pieces. Ayato swung his sword with extraordinary speed, and with all the ease of brushing away an insect, each puppet that appeared instantly dropped.

"It's useless. Even putting aside the fact that they're powerless alone, as long as you've grasped their movements, they may as well be made of wood."

Ayato swung his blade without so much as looking. Like a moth to a flame, the puppets approached him, and with a searing hiss, were dispatched.

In other words, Ayato had completely grasped their movements.

"Alright then, it's about time we finish up."

As he finished speaking, he suddenly charged into the mass of the puppet army's main body.

With every swing of his sword, the number of puppets dropped.

Several of the puppets attempted to guard against his attacks, but to no avail. The mysterious blade was simply too strong. As other Lux weapons attempted to meet it, both the puppets and the weapons they had used as shields were cut through like a hot knife through butter.

Julis trembled at the sight of this almighty power.

' _Amazing_ _...how can his sword not be blocked?_ '

Even for a sword of normal origins, this was just too much for someone to wield.

They then tried to evade his attacks, but his sword was far too fast.

...It hadn't even been three minutes.

During this short duration, Cyrus' puppet army which had numbered over a hundred was now left utterly in ruins.

Whether it was the large and sturdy type meant for Lester or the black-clothed flame-retardant type meant for her; all lay in pieces.

"...This isn't possible... This isn't possible... Impossible... Just not possible..."

Watching the scene before him in disbelief, Cyrus seemed to have fallen into an incoherent stupor. As Ayato pointed his sword at him, he let out a scream and fell on his butt.

"Game's over, Cyrus."

"...It's not over yet! I still have my trump card!"

From his position on the floor, Cyrus waved his arms energetically.

From behind a pile of rubble an enormous puppet appeared.

It was five times the size of any previous one. If it hadn't been for the hole in the roof, it would undoubtedly have smashed through the ceiling. Its limbs were large enough to rival the size of the pillars of the decrepit building. Although it was still vaguely humanoid, it resembled an ape much more than a human.

"Ahahahaha! Come forth - my queen! Destroy my enemies!"

Heeding the command, the queen charged Ayato at a speed unfitting for its large size.

She didn't seem to be armed, but all things considered, she probably didn't need to be. With all the momentum that blow could accumulate given its mass, even someone from the Starpulse Generation would be unable to withstand its force.

Ayato, however, only narrowed his eyes, and again took his high frequency blade up in a stance.

At the precise moment when that giant fist would splatter the two, the sword flashed.

"Rend flesh and shatter bone - Amagiri Bright Dragon Style, Intermediate Technique; Nine-fanged Longsword!"

Even Julis, watching from point-blank, couldn't tell what Ayato had done.

She saw but a single flash from his blade, but in the next moment, all four of the giant puppet's limbs had been severed, dropping to the ground with a loud rumble. A huge scar had been scored into the puppet's body. She wasn't sure just what kind of attack could leave such a mark - actually, she wasn't even sure just how many times Ayato had attacked in that single moment.

At last, Cyrus was left completely speechless.

As Ayato approached, his face twisted in fear and he ran.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Stumbling, crawling, wailing, he squeezed his way into the wreckage of his puppets.

"You really don't give up, do you?"

Ayato frowned impatiently, and followed after with a dangerous expression. Even if Ayato had immediately taken after him, he was still a step behind. Clutching a piece of wreckage to his chest, Cyrus began to float.

More accurately, it was the wrecked piece of his puppet that began to float, but the effect was the same either way.

He watched Cyrus accelerate and speed away.

"Sorry, Julis. I need to go after him. Would you mind waiting for me here?"

"If you're going to ask, then of course I can. Can you catch him though?"

"...I'll be honest; it's going to be hard."

At that moment, Cyrus had nearly reached the roof. If he managed to escape the building...

"Alright then. Tag me in."

"Huh...?"

"Didn't I say this already? I refuse to be a burden!"

Julis laughed fearlessly and gathered her Prana.

"Bloom proudly - Strelitzia; Stellar Wings of the Bird of Paradise!"

As mana gathered, wings of pure flame began to sprout from Ayato's back.

"Huhm what is this Julis?"

"We're going to take off. Leave control to me! I'm going to teach that despicable piece of trash a very painful lesson!"

"...Princesses shouldn't talk like that."

Julis ignored Ayato's comment and spread her wings.

The pair flew through the hole in the roof and out of the building in a burst of speed, emerging into a sunset scarlet-dyed sky. Although this was Julis' first time flying with the weight of two people, she felt anything but unsteady. Indeed, strength bubbled forth from somewhere deep within her.

Julis again accelerated, and they soon caught up to Cyrus.

"...This is checkmate, Cyrus Norman."

"S-Stop! Noooooooooooooo!"

They flashed by him.

The remaining piece of his puppet turned to ash, and Cyrus let loose a blood-curdling scream as he fell into the depths of the dilapidated building.

Seeing as he was a member of the Starpulse Generation, the fall posed no threat to his life.

"Claudia and the others ought to be waiting below. Let's leave this to them."

"I understand..."

Julis closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

A lot had happened, but it'd finally drawn to an end.

The strong breeze flowing by felt decidedly comfortable.

"How beautiful..."

At Ayato's words, Julis opened her eyes and surveyed the scene.

"...You're right, it's gorgeous."

The gradually setting sun dyed the city a deep rose.

The streets, sky, and lake surface, all a captivating scarlet.

Julis and Ayato spread their wings and, turning to one another, laughed.

"...Guh!"

Suddenly, Ayato's expression twisted in pain.

"W-what's wrong?" Julis prompted.

Even before receiving an answer, she could tell something was off.

All the Mana in their surroundings began to accumulate with Ayato at its center.

This amount was no joke.

"W-what is this...?"

She couldn't feel the presence of any Strega or Dante in the vicinity.

It was likely this was the effect of some mechanism put in place beforehand. To be honest, such abilities weren't all that rare. Both time-delay abilities as well as those that took effect after some pre-existing condition was met were rather common.

' _But this much Mana...just what on earth...?_ '

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

As Ayato let out a painful shout, magic circles began to appear all around Ayato. From these magic circles, shackles of light erupted, and bound him hand and foot.

"This is from earlier!?"

These magic circles were identical to those she had seen earlier when his Prana had surged to untold limits.

' _In other words, those magic circles are meant to bind his powers? It takes this much mana just to do that...!?_ '

"Uuuuh..."

"Hey, hey! Ayato! Hey!"

Ayato seemed to lose consciousness, and his body fell slack.

Thankfully, the wings of flame were under Julis' control, or things could have taken a turn for the worse. Until just a moment ago, it had been Ayato who'd held Julis in his arms. Now, their positions had switched, and she held onto him for dear life.

"Honestly! What a pain."

Julis searched for a convenient spot to land, spreading her wings once more.

 **~o0o~**

 **Nine to ten years ago**

 _"...Forgive me, Ayato."_

 _The maiden's face showed a smile, but her eyes brimmed with tears. She gently placed her hands atop the boy's head._

 _"Onee-chan...?"_

 _Attired in an old dojo uniform, the boy gazed up at the girl, puzzled._

 _Moonlight shone through the dojo windows, announcing the room empty for all but the two. The room was near silent but for the sounds of wildlife, and the dark mood of night filled the empty dojo._

 _On this night, the girl was clearly unsettled._

 _Her attitude and voice, at once warm and gentle, steady and stern, was as per usual. However, the eyes through which she gazed at the boy were clearly not._

 _The boy's face proclaimed his confusion. As he opened his mouth to speak, to inquire, the girl closed her eyes as if to cut him off._

 _"...Forgive me."_

 _While the girl continued to plead for forgiveness, over and over, the world began to spin furiously, engulfing the boy._

 _"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"_

 _The boy screamed wildly._

 _An intense pain ran through his body, like an electric shock. The boy tried to struggle, but was unable to so much as lift a finger. From out of the thin air, countless shackles appeared and clung to him, binding his entire body._

 _The boy endeavored to look up and over, beyond the hand of the girl, blocking his vision, as countless magic circles appeared._

 _The boy couldn't comprehend what was happening._

 _More correctly, the boy understood in his mind; this was his sister's power. This was the power to stem the flow of nature itself, a defensive power with the strength to forcibly suppress all things. A power that belonged only to one who possessed a magician's nature - a Strega._

 _However, the girl normally despised her power. For her to use this power on the boy was inconceivable._

 _Or so the boy believed._

 _"S-sister...why...? Why w-would you do this?"_

 _The boy whispered in a quiet voice that was fast fading. Strength drained out of his body with each passing moment._

 _The girl continued to hold her eyes shut, as she mumbled solemnly._

 _"...By the power of the circular shackles, your might shall be imprisoned."_

 _At that moment, the boy's senses vanished as certainly as if they'd fled into the night sky._

 _As if he'd been thrown into a bottomless pit, the entire world seemed to flood with darkness._

 _His consciousness fading, his mind hazy, he faintly heard the voice of the girl, struggling to keep herself together as she answered._

 _"Didn't I say before? I will protect you, and so..."_

 _As the voice seemed to fade into the distance, the boy fought with all his might to reach out his hand._

 _"N-no...! I also want to protect my sister...!"_

 _It was for this purpose, it was all for this one purpose, that the boy had worked so tirelessly._

 _And yet..._

 _"Good-bye, Ayato. I love you."_

 _In all of the boy's memories, that was the last time he ever heard his sister speak._

 **~o0o~**

 **Present Day**

As Ayato opened his eyes, what entered his vision was the sight of Julis, her frown fraught with concern.

Seeing him come to, however, she brightened considerably.

"Hey, finally awake? For a moment there, I really didn't know what to do."

"Hmm, this is...Ow!"

Still not clear on the situation, Ayato tried to rise, but pain wracked his body. It was here that body reacted violently with the overuse of his extreme powers causing him to cough up a bit of blood.

"Ayato! What's wrong?"

Hearing the concern that Julis had for the young man, she didn't know how to react when he began coughing up the crimson liquid from his mouth. That was until he stopped and with his breathing a bit uneven afterwards.

This searing pain, however, allowed him to remember.

"Ah. I fainted."

"Don't push yourself. We're currently on the roof of that rundown building. I've already spoken to Claudia, she's going to come get us."

"That's great. Thanks."

In Ayato's current condition, even walking would likely prove to be difficult.

Ayato looked around. The sun had long since set, night had fallen, and stars filled the sky.

"I need to thank you for saving my sorry ass from falling."

"Th-there's no need to thank me. Rather, it should be the reverse. I owe you my life."

Speaking, Julis turned aside.

Seeing Julis as straightforward as always, Ayato inwardly rejoiced. Suddenly, feeling that something was unusual, Ayato squinted his eyes as he looked at Julis.

Things were far too soft for him to be lying on the ground, as he'd supposed.

Moreover, he caught the slightest scent of a flowery fragrance.

"H-hey, stop that! Don't just move around...!"

Moreover, as he suddenly realized, her face was rather close.

In other words, he was currently resting on her lap.

"You didn't have to do that, I-I don't think it was all that necessary..."

Flustered for once, he tried to rise, only to feel an electric shock run through his body.

"D-Don't worry about it. Calm down, you idiot! You still can't stand, right?"

"B-but..."

"I-I said not to worry, so don't worry! Geez."

Julis, whose face was now so red it seemed steam would come out, turned her head and swatted Ayato on the forehead.

"Alright, fine..."

It seems it was best to avoid rocking the boat.

Ayato, the mercenary rarely had moments of like these with his face getting a bit red, moved only enough to nod lightly.

"Th-That reminds me."

Julis coughed lightly, and looked at Ayato.

"Mind explaining what just happened?"

"Oh... well, what is it you want me to explain?"

"Let's start with whatever it is that's suppressing your powers. That's the work of a Strega or Dante, correct? Who's the one who did that to you?"

"Ha, that, huh..."

Ayato hesitated for a moment, but seeing Julis lean in close, he decided to stop playing dumb, sighed, and began to answer.

"...My sister. My sister's power allows her to bind all creation."

Julis appeared ill at ease with his answer.

"Is that so... In other words, that just now was your true power?"

"You could say that, although that's not entirely correct."

"Which is it? Such a frustrating man."

Ayato smiled wryly, and then answered the fuming Julis.

"A power you can't control doesn't count as part of your 'true power'." He answered cryptically.

"From what I saw, you didn't seem to have any problems."

"Within the bounds of a certain time limit, yes. That was my first time going over five minutes. When the time limit's up, I pay the price, and am left unable to move an inch. It's not like it's all bad, but it's not something to write home about either. Granted, that was the first time in years I was needed to use my powers."

The first time he'd tried to break his bonds, he hadn't even lasted ten seconds.

"...Why would your sister do something like that to you?"

"If I had a chance to ask her, I would like to know as well. Five years ago, after she did this to me, she disappeared."

"But..."

"It's alright. I'm sure she had her reasons."

Ayato waved away Julis' concerns.

"Speaking of which, there's something I'd like to ask you myself."

"Go ahead."

"Have you found a partner for the Phoenix yet?"

"Ah...!"

Julis open frown answered his question for him.

Ayato, relieved, continued to speak.

"In that case, um... how about me?"

"What?"

"I wouldn't call myself a saint, but I think I do alright. My mind's about as sharp as the average person. When it comes to an iron will or noble spirit, well... I might have to ask you to turn a blind eye to the noble spirit part...I ain't a saint by any degree of measure..."

Julis managed to hear the last part to his sentence, "Even the devil himself is far more pure than me..."

"...You know you just admitted you don't meet most of the requirements."

Although Julis was thoroughly taken aback, she put on a tactful smile.

"I am grateful that you're thinking about me, but don't push yourself. When it comes to the Festa, your normal abilities aren't enough. Moreover, didn't you say you weren't interested in fighting?"

"Don't worry about any of that," Ayato stated firmly.

"I said this before, right? My calling right now... it's to be your strength, Julis. Besides, let's say...I have some business being in this city at the moment."

His words made Julis blush.

"B-But, you shouldn't decide this sort of thing so casually..."

"...Are you sure you're not just embarrassed? Your face is pretty red."

"I-Idiot! Who did you say was embarrassed?! And you, stop looking!"

Julis gave Ayato a slap.

It didn't hurt, but she held on to Ayato's face, obstructing his vision.

"...Julis?"

She didn't reply.

In place of words, Ayato felt the hand on his face shake a little.

"...D-Do you really mean that?"

Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, and it quivered as she spoke.

Utterly unlike the self-confident tone she normally used, this insecure voice spoke of her fear of disappointment. Her voice revealed her fear of extending her hand to another, or of reaching out to take another's hand which had been extended to her.

Such a reaction was very common. No matter who it was, taking a new step entirely on faith was something that brought fear and anxiety; that was common sense.

And perhaps - this was Julis' true nature.

Neither more nor less than that of a normal girl.

If such a girl were to bravely and staunchly advance for the sake of acting on her convictions, she would be both amazingly courageous and overwhelmingly adorable.

"Do you even need to ask?"

And so, answering, his resolve was no less than her own.

He would not allow himself to feel regret; no, never again.

This time, he wouldn't make the same mistake.

"...Honestly. You are one strange guy."

Julis released her grip. Ayato smiled, "I know I am, doesn't take away that you mean a lot to me Julis. And after the last few years, this darkness has plagued me for the last few years and you really helped me more than even I realized."

Her face became tinged with red, "W-what you m-mean?"

Rather than telling, he would show her. Without saying much, Ayato's hand cupped her cheek as he drew her in closer.

"Julis...I can't really explain to you how I feel...the only way is to show you."

Said girl didn't put up much resistance as she realized what he was doing and help to close the distance between the two. It was the first time that Julis had ever kissed anybody and the warmth that it sparked in her heart was something that was indescribable.

The kiss seem to have lasted an eternity, yet it was for a few seconds.

Under the starry sky, Julis smiled.

Ayato spoke not a word. He simply raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears that had run down her face. He didn't care if the world was against him...he had something to protect in this world, there were two girls in his life...

With these last few weeks showing that he couldn't let them go nor would he let anything happen to them.

If it's the last thing he does.

* * *

 **Welp, those would be some major changes to this story and there will be no harem, only Claudia and Julis...**

 **So yeah...**

 **Well I still need to write the epilogue for this first Arc of the story, and the second Arc will be the start of the actual military operation within the city for Ayato's team.**

 **Until then guys, see ya later!**


	8. Chapter 8

" _War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over._ " - William Tecumseh Sherman

* * *

Cyrus Norman dragged his limp body onward, desperately fleeing into a small alley in the redevelopment zone.

He'd carefully aimed his fall at what he'd deemed the largest pile of wrecked dolls. Acting as a cushion, it offset some of the impact from his fall, but it was too much to expect that he'd avoid injury nonetheless. He wasn't sure just how many bones in his body had been broken, but a horrifying pain ran throughout his body, and he felt as if he had been rent apart.

But he didn't stop.

Since the Integrated Enterprise Foundation's secret forces - the Shadow Stars - had already been mobilized, there was no way he could afford to be caught here. Without a doubt, they'd go to any length to get answers out of him, and then...

"Shit! Why?! Why aren't these people picking up...?!"

This was clearly the moment when he most needed Allekant's support the most, and yet his designated contact line wasn't working right now.

"If I'm going down, don't think I'm going down alone...!"

"You really do place a lot of value on yourself, Mr. Norman."

Emerging from the darkness to block Cyrus' path of escape was a golden-haired young woman.

"Th-The student council president...!"

In her hands she held the strangest-looking swords he'd ever seen. The pattern on their bodies looked rather like eyeballs, and the pair of swords gave the distinct impression that you had caught the eye of a monster.

Ogre Lux 'Pan-Dora'. This was the first Cyrus had ever seen of those notorious blades, but he'd previously heard of their ability from people that have gone against Claudia. Most of them couldn't comprehend how something like this existed...

It was unlike anything that was ever seen as a Orge Lux.

"You know, the way they see it, you're just there to be used and then discarded. It's rather pitiful, really."

"...L-Let's make a trade."

"A trade? With me?"

"Everything! I'll tell you everything I know! In return, I want your guarantee of my safety! Don't hand me over to the Shadow Stars but the disciplinary committee!"

Claudia tilted her head, and asked one question.

"So what's in it for me?"

Hearing her response, Cyrus snickered inwardly.

If given the slightest leeway in their negotiations, he still had a chance to turn things around.

"The Shadow Stars will undoubtedly dispose of me in some secret location. On the other hand, if the disciplinary committee gets a hold of me, this incident will spread far and wide. Until that time, you can feel free to use me as a bargaining chip for negotiation. How's that sound...?"

Claudia closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

Seeing what looked to be an opening, Cyrus pressed his silver tongue onward.

"We're the same kind of person, you and I - treating others like pieces on a chessboard. Morons wouldn't understand, but using your chips where they're most warranted is how a master wins this game. I think you understand as well, right?"

"I see... that certainly does make sense."

At this sentence, Cyrus relaxed immensely.

This woman definitely placed the priority on things that had value - a rational, but easily-seen-through personality.

Suddenly, however, Claudia gave an elegant laugh.

"It's just that... there's one area where we're different, Norman."

"You think of yourself as the one moving the pieces, but I see myself as just another piece on the board. If that wasn't the case, wouldn't things be just too boring?"

She began to chuckle delightedly.

"Moreover - as opposed to having this incident spread all over - I'd much rather take care of it in quiet, and hold it over Allekant's head. I think that's a lot more useful, don't you think?"

Cyrus' face lost its color, and he began to tremble.

"Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

With a terrible shout, Cyrus played his last card.

From within his clothes, a hidden knife burst out, under the control of his abilities; a sneak attack aimed directly at Claudia. From this distance, this was a sure-kill; of this, Cyrus was certain.

However.

"Honestly. I thought you already knew what these kids' ability was?"

Claudia had foreseen his sneak attack, and swatted his knife out of the air.

The sneak attack was a complete and utter failure.

As the knife landed, it came to rest precisely in the heel of Cyrus, who had turned to flee.

"Aah...!"

"Hey, there's no need to be so scared; you're still of use to me. For now, anyway."

Claudia showed her usual smile.

But her eyes were cold as ice. Cyrus was frozen to the spot like prey caught in the glare of a predator.

"Right then. I bid you farewell."

Speaking in a gentle tone, Claudia waved her twin blades as if dancing. From the eyeballs on the hilt of her swords erupted an eerie ray of light. Cyrus suddenly fountained blood from all over.

"...T-That's 'Pan-Dora'..."

He fell to his knees and then slumped onto the ground.

Among those Ogre Lux weapons most prized at Seidoukan, this demonic weapon boasted the power to see the future.

The school badge on Cyrus' chest had been destroyed. As he faded into unconsciousness, he felt someone approach.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you did this again."

From out of the shadows of the streetlights, an indiscreet young man appeared, greeting Claudia in a casual tone.

"Don't worry about it. Just toss him in the punishment room. I leave the cleanup to you Shadow Stars; covering things up is your specialty after all."

"Of course. That's how we put food on the table, after all."

The young man cast a quick glance at Cyrus, shrugging as if it didn't concern him.

Almost as if he was an outsider.

"Oh, that reminds me. How did things end up with those two?"

"Julis just contacted me. It seems everything went well."

"If that's the case, why is it that you really don't look like you seem all that happy right now?"

"Ho~... To be seen through by you, I really need to step it up."

"If it bothers you that much, shouldn't you have just gone with him? Any I have my own questions about who Ayato really is? No one, and I mean no one, should have access to high frequency blades like that." the young man said noncommittally.

"It wasn't an option. I have my own responsibilities, after all. And with Ayato, he's been doing some work for the last few years..."

"Is that really all there is to it?"

The young man chuckled, teasing Claudia. She laughed as before, before countering him sharply.

"Could it be that you were ordered from on high to investigate me, Yabuki Eishirou?"

"No, no, no, of course not!"

The young man vigorously shook his head, but he never stopped chuckling.

"That was purely out of curiosity. I was just wondering if you were really fine leaving everything up to them."

Crestfallen, Claudia hung her head dejectedly in response, and sighing, said, "...It can't be helped. It's regretful, but, just this once, I'll let Julis have this one. Either way, Ayato...he's shown me sides to him that no one will ever hope to understand..."

She muttered the last words to herself, so not even Eishirou could hear her...

"Only I understand...my...Ayato..."

 **Hardline**

 **Epilogue, Arc 1**

 **Unknown Location, Asterisk City**

In the dark corners of a lab somewhere in the city, a young girl heard the news. Momentarily pausing in her work, she sighed.

"Guess it's time to cut our losses. Well, in the end, we did gather all the data we wanted, and he even accomplished his goal - he really took to ambushing those strong students rather earnestly. Not surprised give his own nature."

At her side, innumerable space windows opened in mid-air, displaying rapidly changing numbers and graphs.

There were even images of what had happened a mere few hours ago.

Hundreds of her puppets were burned in half from a sword unlike anything anyone, and her, have ever seen before.

With the figure carrying both Julis and the sword, being covered in a dark military combat outfit. She has never heard about a soldier attending any of the academies in Asterisk City, and not that it mattered anyway.

"But more importantly~ Doesn't that mean that the puppets I designed are super strong? Hehehe."

The girl laughed in delight, as she manipulated her optical keyboard.

"...As expected, those who think they're smarter than they actually are - really are the easiest to deal with."

The corners of her lip were upturned in a confident, self-assured smile. The girl returned to her work.

From out of the corner of her eye, two puppets were silently resting.

 **~o0o~**

 **A few hours ago**

 **Above the Sea of Japan**

The clouds had covered the rising full moon, with three large aircraft moving through the air.

On closer inspection, the designs were that of the Antonov An-124. A massive military transport of the Russian air force that was decommissioned after the introduction of much more affordable and stable options came up. With the design having changes such as the black paint, and the small symbol near the front of the transport.

A letter ' _C_ ' with a strange symbol in the middle.

"Alright! Listen up, we all know that our target is the city of Asterisk. With the tournament appearing in a few weeks time, our attack needs to be swift and brutal."

Inside the large transport was a man with white hair tied into a pony-tail and goggles covering his eyes was wearing a black combat uniform with some armor on it, he was also wearing a mask that covered the lower portion of his face.

While his left arm was encased within some metallic material with a larger version of the symbol on the outside portion of the aircraft, stamped his shoulder.

On his back was a large sword and on his hip were holsters carrying handguns.

Surrounding the man were the selected soldiers that belonged to Project Liberty Militia, a terrorist organization that the world wanted dead as they continued their ruthless attacks on European and any Western cities. The man with the large sword was going over the plan in order to make sure the job was down.

"There will be no major military forces to oppose us. And from what our intel says, the city is going to be perfect for when the battle tournament starts and we can begin our mission to find and destroy the targets; Kingsman, Neptune, and Omega."

He looked at a map projected on a table in front of his men, it showed the areas highlighted in green were some of the locations needed to be attacked with all six academies being highlighted in red as the most important part of the assault.

For this mission, they received air support in the form of a few American built Apache longbow attack helicopters modernized with advanced technology. It was what some of the surprises they had in store for the people of this city.

As well as the whole world will witness it.

"We need to be ready as Menedez wants to see the West burn to the ground and this Asterisk City would just be the start of this..."

As well as a new technology to be used in the field.

On the screen, it showed the image of a soldier dressed in a dark grey camouflage with it's arms covered by a black shoulder strap that goes across the chest area. While it's hands were made from metal, it resembled that of a human unlike the normal robotics of this time.

The most surprising feature was it's face as a hood covered a majority of it with a black plate covering it with a glass area around the upper portion.

These mechanical soldiers were the future.

"We will show the world, that giving into greed and corruption will only end with their deaths..."

He looked at the holographic version of Asterisk City, and they all knew this city will be destroyed for what it was built for.

Knowing that conflict was a mere few weeks away...

 **END Part 1**

* * *

 **I finally finished the first major arc of this story and the next one will focus on the military operations side of the story.**

 **But, that will take some time as they need to be done correctly.**

 **So see ya later guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

" _Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories._ " - Sun Tzu

* * *

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 8: Chase of a lifetime**

 **Two weeks later**

 **June 6th, 2025**

 **Asterisk City, Japan**

It was over a month since the incident had occurred with Cyrus Norman.

Nothing major had happened in recent weeks as there were no more attempts on Julis's life.

While Ayato remained vigilant since the council member's warning a few weeks back.

It was nearly midnight as Ayato entered the city.

The full moon shined over the city, with all within the place known for it's greedy nature was alive with activity as people were enjoying the night life. Bright lights from jumbo-trons filled the skyline as skyscrapers were towering above the horizon for all to see.

Within the crowded sidewalks, a person wearing a black sweater could be seen.

As he continued walking through the crowd of people, he soon turned into a barren alleyway filled with nothing, but trash and people that couldn't afford to have a place to sleep. While the look of it wasn't awful, the smell could make anyone sick to their stomach.

The mysterious person clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Really, of the all places, they choose here to meet..."

He continued walking until he saw a large man standing in front of a doorway.

Approaching the door, the man noticed Ayato.

"Stop, who the hell are you? You're not supposed to be near here."

His annoyed tone made it all more clear that this was place that he needed to meet them at.

"Look, just let me through and I won't make any trouble for ya. Deal?"

His carefree smile and narrowed eyes made the man raise an eyebrow at the man's offer.

However, he didn't want to cause any issues for his boss.

"Sorry punk, and beat it."

"I was afraid you would say that..."

This time around Ayato's voice sounded annoyed from the man's response. Walking up to the door, the man placed a hand on his shoulder.

Hearing laughter coming from the raven haired teen, "You're going to regret this buddy..."

Immediately, the mercenary grabbed the guard's hand and threw him over his shoulder into the nearby wall. However, Ayato knew the man was a part of the Genestella generation and knew he could take that hit easily.

The man charged at Ayato, and tried to land a right hook.

Until the mercenary moved out of the way quickly enough and grabbed his arm. He used enough force in the opposite direction of where his attack was going and broke his arm in two from the simple addition of pressure.

"AHHH! You broke my arm fucker!"

He was on his knee, cradling his arm from the pain. With the increased strength he possessed from both his natural abilities and added training only made it worse for the person on the receiving end of it.

Walking up to him, "You know, I told you buddy...that it would only end badly for you."

Kneeing the guard in his face, Ayato felt his nose break as it began to spew out blood at an alarming rate.

As he was laying on his back from the pain he was feeling, he soon saw a shadow over him. Soon, he felt a foot press tightly against over his neck.

"P-please...don't k-kill me..."

"Sorry...but, I have to...nothing personal man, just business like usual."

 ***Crack***

Once he heard the sound of bone cracking, Ayato knew he was dead, or on his way to dying from his supply of oxygen being cut off. He dragged the body of the guard somewhere others wouldn't look. Approaching the entrance of the location and as he opened the door, only to reveal a dark room that was only light up by neon colored lights.

His nose smelled the scent of alcohol, sex, and even the smell of cigarettes. Noticing the one of the main attraction of places like these were currently the main source of money in order to keep up with the demand for alcohol.

There were a few platforms where performers were using their bodies to earn quick money while lust-filled men flung the money like it was for charity.

"I would kill every last one of these fuckers..."

Ayato sometimes enjoyed killing degenerates like these, taking advantage of people in desperate situations and his mind wondered back to two girls in his life. Ones that made an impact on it very quickly when he first arrived on campus.

He smiled at their names. Trying to keep his mind off the feeling of being a mercenary...

' _Julis and Claudia...how I miss you two..._ '

He sighed, realizing that they must be somewhat worried that he's not in the male dorm building as well as him turning off his communication devices so they couldn't call him at the wrong time, as this was a place where he didn't need trouble to find him.

But...

Knowing his own luck, that was bound to happen.

For a few minutes, he walked past endless booths where men were being tempted by women. Until he reached the last booth and sat down.

"Of all the places to meet...was this the best one Harper?"

In the booth were three other men, all of them being Ayato's squad members for the ISD.

Each one wore mundane clothing that wouldn't draw any attention to them, as did Ayato in case they needed to split up and hide within the crowd of people.

The first one across from him was Mike Harper, a man in his later forties with brown hair and blue eyes with him being a former member of the U.S Navy seals special operations forces. One of the most distinct features was the burn on the side of his face.

A man that Ayato had always found driving him up the wall on every mission they've gone on.

Or, about even the most simplest of things.

Next to him was David Mason, a man within his forties as well with hazel hair and brown eyes. He was also a former member of the Navy seals, like Harper was, and was commander of J-SOC forces at one point in his career. As well as one of the first people that Ayato had become friends with when he first entered the ISD's special forces units back a few years ago.

And the one sitting next to Ayato was Javier Salazar, a Nicaraguan man with short black hair and brown eyes. Along with Harper and David, he was once a member of the U.S Navy seals before becoming a member of the ISD.

Someone that Ayato respected since the first day he had met him for the work ethic he had.

"So Ayato, how's it been at that new school of yours? Manage to grab any dates while you've been there?"

Harper asked a question that said person knew would be asked, "Why must my personal life be public to you of all people?"

"Because I want to know about our little bro over here. And besides, from what I heard...they said somethin' about two girls, now that is impressive."

Raising an eyebrow, "You used the guys at intel, didn't you?"

"And besides, my relationships aren't for you to know." When of the waitresses came by, he waived them to go away, as he didn't want anyone to hear their conversation.

All three of them knew about the two girls being quite famous in their own respective ways, with the first one being Julis-Alexia Marie Florentia Renate van Riessfeld, one of the few princess that exist within this world and the other being Claudia Enfield, having both influence in the school as well as her own mother being a part of the higher ups in the school's parent company.

The three knew that Ayato needed some type of distraction, and they all hoped these girls would be the answer.

However, all four soldiers knew why they were here...

"What did intel find out about the PLM's attack?"

Speaking up first as Ayato looked around, making sure that no one was overhearing their conversation.

David spoke up, "Sadly, it ain't much what they told us about the PLM's attack on Asterisk City. All we know are a few names and local connections that they have in the city..."

"Meaning that we have to start from the loose ends and work our way up. God damn, this is going to take a while..."

Harper added his own information into the conversation.

"And we have to work fast as we have no clue as to when they might launch their attack."

The raven haired mercenary sighed, "Let's start figuring out the names and local connections that might lead us to some real information about these assholes."

David took out a file filled with papers, "Old school stuff...huh."

Salazar was the first one to speak up, hearing the Spanish accent in his voice.

As they opened up a file, Harper picked out the first paper. It had a picture of a man that looked to be in his thirties with green eyes and a dragon tattoo on his face. Next to it, the paper said his name was Toshio.

"Green dragon of the East...really?"

"Yeah, though he's called that because of what he sells in the city."

"What does the guy sell?"

Wondering what kind of product that the typical criminal of this city would sell.

"Sells your standard cocaine, and works within the arm dealing side as well."

This time it was Harper that said it.

"Worth looking into then?"

Asking his team members, with Salazar shaking his head.

"No, there's too many variables to this man and could lead to a dead end rather quickly."

The second paper had an image of a man that looked to be in his early fifties with slick back gray hair and dark blue eyes with a knife wound across his left cheek. His appearance reminded Ayato of the famous American gangster; Al Capone from the early twentieth century.

There was only one name next to his picture; Vendrick.

Nothing else.

"What about him?"

Seeing who the raven haired teen directed at, David knew Ayato would pick this man out.

From what their intelligence told them, that this man was the out of the four possible leads that could take them to the PLM's plan, would be the best chance they have as he has operations in both weapons and slave trades to the other side of the globe.

With so much wealth accumulated, his criminal empire is virtually untouchable by the law and has some of the best security that he could buy with money to protect and defend his interest in most countries that he's dealing in.

Essentially, he's become famous for his ruthless nature and ability to terrify those that try to find any evidence in order to convict him.

Not only that, he's had past experiences of selling these products to terrorist organizations before in the past.

With one of the more radical ones in recent history being the one that called themselves ISIS from over a few years ago when it was finally taken down by both the combination of American and Russian forces.

Harper interjected, "From what we know, this man is the most powerful crime boss on this side of the globe as he has hands in just about most selling of weapons and his slave trade is quite notorious around the globe. Nothing get's past this guy in terms of what gets sold. Well illegally that is we're speaking. Besides, what the guys told us is that he has a family here in the city and those guys are going to be heavily protected."

Sitting back, Ayato knew that if a criminal had such power and has a history of dealing with terrorist groups, then their best shot was this man right here.

However, he knew with such wealth and forces available to him that this would be a dangerous operation for his team to take on.

"Well, I had a feeling this wouldn't be easy..."

Ayato muttered to himself, wondering if this man was their best chance at finding out about the attack.

"What do you guys think? Should we try Mr. Vendrick here?"

Harper voiced his opinion, "I think we should, even if he doesn't know about their plan, then he must have heard whispers about it as well as know somebody associated with the PLM. A man as powerful as him should know about things like these."

None of them could see the fault in that logic, Vendrick was bound to know something about what the coming storm.

"Alright, we'll try our luck with Vendrick. So how should we go about this."

The raven haired teen asked his squad, wondering what they could have in mind against him.

"Sadly, there isn't much info on where Vendrick is currently hiding as the last time anyone saw him in this town was a few months ago. So we're going to have to start from the very bottom and pick out key members of his command in order to get to him."

All of them knew this would be a slow and, hopefully, successful mission.

"And what if they tell us that he's out of the country?"

Salazar was the first to ask the question that none of them wanted to hear right now.

"Then we go get him, and drag his old ass back to Asterisk City to make him talk. Simple as that."

Every single one of them knew Ayato would complete a mission, regardless of the circumstances they would face, and this was something their commanders liked about him. While this drive was good in theory, while in practice, it was mixed.

"David, where are some of the locations that we could try in order to find his commanders."

"From what intel told us, he has quite a few places where we could try. Some of them being places like these...only better, to warehouses on the dock filled to the brim with his usual products he receives and ships out."

"I think we should start out with the places like these, from there we can start finding the places that could lead us to Vendrick's current location. Besides, I think his security will be more than enough of a problem for us to deal with, so I rather start off small in order to make sure he doesn't know we're coming."

They all knew he hired experienced mercenaries to protect his businesses as well as himself from harm's way.

"That should work."

Harper sighed, knowing that there would be quite a few weeks of little sleep. Seeing that there will be constant nights of stake-outs, to chasing after individuals around parts of the city. These were going to be a few weeks of living hell.

"Now we need a list of his businesses in the city as well as every property in the city that has his name printed on it."

Knowing that they needed to be prepared and informed on the assets available to this crime lord.

"I'll contact command in the morning about that and we should begin planning by the end of this week. Hopefully, if we can pick up on his trail, we should be able to find clues of the PLM's attack within the next few weeks."

"Key word; hopefully."

Harper pointed this out to the group. They all understood the job needed to be done and what was necessary in order to pull this off.

They all remained quiet as Ayato turned on his communication device, only to see that someone was calling him.

Clicking the answer option, "Uh...hello?"

" _Ayato! Where are you? Do y-you have any idea how worried we are about you?_ "

Julis's rose colored hair and bright blue eyes could be seen. Soon her voice could be heard on the other side, " _Oh Julis, leave our Ayato alone...he can handle himself out there in big, bad Asterisk City._ "

Soon the sweet voice of Claudia could be heard and seen in the background. Wondering where the two might be, "Can I ask where you guys are?"

" _We're in the girl's dorm, and more specifically we're in Claudia's room at the moment, why?_ "

Shaking his head in reply to her question.

"Don't worry about it. Just curious, that's all."

" _Besides, where are you Ayato?_ "

Julis seemed more worried than annoyed at the moment. Ayato learned in the last few weeks that ever since the kiss they shared was that Julis became attached to him, both emotionally and physically.

While she was new to the idea of being with someone, she still tended to act the same way with him in public while in private she became far more soft spoken and fragile.

Like Claudia as well.

Once she found out about his time with Claudia, she was a bit upset at first.

Though after Ayato came clean with his job being a mercenary. Julis understood that his emotional state was worse than the average person, yet he never seemed to show it to most people. Both girls came to an understanding that he cared about each one greatly.

They even understood that his job was demanding him to do things that the average person couldn't do. He was more than willing to help them in times of need, and so they wanted to help him when he needed it the most.

Both Claudia and Julis were fine with the situation at hand, even if it was going to attract attention for most people.

With both girls being his lovers, that was something that even Ayato was getting more and more used as time went on, but he made sure to never let this slip out into the public as these type of things were frowned upon.

"I'm...working..."

Julis and Claudia both could only look at him with worry, they knew he could hold his own in combat, but that didn't stop them from worrying might happen to him.

" _I see...when will you come back to your dorm then?_ "

Claudia was the first to ask the question both wanted an answer for.

"Don't worry, I'll be back in maybe two to three hours...sorry, that's the best I can do guys..."

Both could hear the disappointment in his voice.

" _It's fine Ayato. Just don't get into any trouble._ "

Julis shook her head and a smile appeared on the girl's faces.

" _We just wanted to make sure of where you were._ "

"Now you know I'm fine girls. I have to get back to work, I'll se ya two later and..."

He looked at the three other occupants smirking at where the conversation might be heading. Ayato glanced over and gave Harper a 'watch what's going to happen' look.

"I...love you guys..."

Both girls had red in their cheeks from what he said to them. He never tended to say these things out in public, however they suspected he was with his teammates at the moment and so they could understand where he was coming from.

" ** _I love you too._** "

Julis and Claudia said this at the same time, only loud enough for him to hear. The connection was soon cut, and Ayato looked over to his squad members to see them shaking their heads at what had happened.

"You're a lucky son of a bitch Ayato, you know that?"

"How the hell am I lucky Harper?"

Said man began speaking, "Do you know how many guys have a natural relationship like yours? Where both girls are okay with you dating both of them? A very few amount in this day and age my friend."

Said person was rolling his eyes, "So what I'm getting at, is that you're mad because women don't find you attractive with the big old scar across your ugly mug?"

David and Salazar began laughing at the comment Ayato made about Harper's luck with women. Soon the man was trying to defend his position with things that all three of them knew were feeble attempts to protect his dignity.

The conversation went back onto the topic of their work.

"Now, I must ask. Where the hell is our gear? And I mean our weapons cause my high frequency blade is something I don't like using unless I need it."

Ayato asked, knowing that he had his combat uniform and just needed his standard weapons. Salazar had answered his question.

"The council informed us that it's going to be dropped and held within the MULE being sent inside the sewer system underneath the city. As far as we're concerned, there isn't much activity below for anyone to notice."

When he finished his explanation, all four mercenaries look over to see a few men armed with assault rifles and wearing a tactical vest, were entering the room. They could see the black shark fin symbol on their shoulder, and they all recognized that these men were a part of the Black Sea Sharks.

The four of them have had their run-ins with this organization in the past, and these people had well-trained soldiers operating for them.

Originally, they were called the Tihina Division is a holding company based out of Varna, Bulgaria, which has leveraged great control of the banking sector, and through that has achieved tremendous influence and even direct control over all levels of state institutions. This runs from bribing corrupt local officials, to having a stranglehold on the national airline, and earning tremendous kickbacks from power companies.

Their assets may now be acquired via dollars and euros now, but it was not long ago that the Tihina Division - also known as the fearsome Black Sea Sharks - exercised their control by the barrel of a gun.

And in fact, assassinations, drug running, arms dealing, and many more illicit activities are still performed under their banner.

'Shit...they must have found the body.' The raven haired teen suspected that they found the body of the guard he killed.

All four soldiers made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible. Until one of armed mercenaries started approaching them.

"Don't lose your shit." David whispered out to the other three. He also began taking the files off the table and stuff them away.

Just as the man stood in front of their booth, the mercenary aimed his weapon at them.

"I need you four to come with me right now."

They heard his accent, and assumed he was of either Russian or Ukrainian heritage from just that alone. Trying to act ignorant, Ayato spoke up.

"Wait? You need us? Why?"

"Because, you four need to come with us."

Ayato looked at the others and gave them a look, he stood up from his seat and the man simply turned around to escort them. That was until Ayato slipped a knife from his wrist and with an incredible amount of force, he severed the man's spine that connected his brain to the rest of the body.

The man slumped over with blood pouring profusely his mouth and his neck.

Soon people witnessed what happened, with one of the performers screaming at the scene, "Oh God! They killed someone!"

Others had take notice, along with the other Black Sea Shark members saw their comrade being killed and started firing their weapon at the other mercenary group.

"Get down!"

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***BANG, BANG***

They ducked behind the bar counter to avoid the gun-fire from their assault rifles.

"These guys are packing some serious heat!"

Harper took out a weapon from the inside of his coat, it was a FN five-seven mk2. It is a semi-automatic delayed blowback pistol chambered for FN's 5.7x28mm ammunition. It had the ability to pierce kevlar armor that would be used by most organized military forces.

"We need to get the hell out of here! Now!"

Reaching for the nearby assault rifle that the - now dead - soldier was carrying. It was the AK-103, an assault rifle that is a derivative of the AK-74M chambered for the 7.62 39mm. It was a part of the AK series of guns that were known for it's durability and can maintain it's own degree of accuracy.

Ayato held the weapon in a firing position as he ducked behind cover.

"David and Salazar, the moment that me and Harper start firing on those assholes, you guys make a run for the backdoor. We'll meet you guys at a building in the redevelopment zone a few clicks from here, got it?"

He showed them on the city map, the building that Julis and him were at a few weeks ago when they dealt with Cyrus.

"Yeah, we'll be there and don't get your ass shot."

Both Harper and Ayato looked at each for a quick second and the raven haired mercenary started using hand motions to let him know to fire on his signal.

As the gun-fire continued to pin them down, they soon heard the sounds of magazines being changed and Ayato gave the signal to start firing on the mercenaries. He and Harper stood up and began to fire at the Black Sea Sharks operatives.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATAT***

A few of the bullets landed on the enemy mercenaries and blood covered the floor of the illegal night club. People were in fear as they soon realized that these were two highly trained soldiers fighting each other.

Just like Ayato told them, David and Salazar started making their way through the back area of the club. Making sure not to knock over people and not giving anyone a chance to see their faces, as it would compromise the whole mission at hand.

Meanwhile, the two remaining members of the ISD continued to hold off the enemy fighters.

"We need to get out of here, like right now Ayato. Or this ain't going to end well for us!"

Harper voiced his concern as the enemy received some additional men, and with the gun Ayato was running out of ammo. They hid once more behind the counter as Ayato and Harper both reloaded their weapons.

"Alright, I'm black on ammo!"

Ayato called to Harper about his ammo situation.

Soon they could hear the noise of gun shots going off in their direction as the wall behind them was littered in bullet holes. Both started making their way towards the back area of the club, and firing small burst of rounds at the enemy fighters.

 ***RATATAT***

"I'll cover your ass!"

 ***RATATATATATAT***

Once Harper made his way into the back area, Ayato was not too far behind as the enemy mercenaries began chasing after them.

"We got to meet them at the rally point!"

 **~o0o~**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

 **Same Night**

"It's getting really late now..."

Julis stood by the window, looking out towards the city that someone that her and Claudia cared for deeply, was in a potentially dangerous situation in a city that was known for the areas riddled with crime.

The other person with her was sitting behind her.

Claudia looked at the clock, only to see that it was well past two in the morning.

' _Where is he?_ '

Was the common thought for both girls as he promised them he would be back in two to three hours.

The only reason why she was still up this late was because she ended up talking with Claudia about what her and Ayato's strategy in the upcoming festa, which was around two months away at the moment.

And something that Ayato wasn't as concerned about as much as the time he had in order to complete the job he was on.

However, she did know that with this large gap of time, there would be nights where Ayato would be working until very late to even times where he wouldn't even come back until morning. Something that neither girl wanted to experience at the moment.

Without even realizing it, Julis ended up talking with Claudia more than she expected to.

"I'm sure he's perfectly fine Julis, so stop worrying about our Ayato."

It was still a bit strange for Julis to hear Claudia say 'their' Ayato as this was something that she would never have imagined would happen. Yet, it was becoming normal for her to hear such things directed towards both of them.

The princess walked back to where Claudia sat and slumped down as her own thoughts about what he was doing filled her mind.

With both girls were sitting on the furniture in the living area.

Claudia had also, wondered throughout the last few days about the mercenary they fell in love with, and how his job is going to affect their relationship. He worked in a business where conflict means there's money to be made.

To hear such things weren't too far off from what she thought of the business. However, she never truly took the moment to think about the lives being affected from the people who may be receiving the help to the mercenaries themselves.

Hearing about those that cracked under the pressure and ended up killing themselves or kill those around him.

With Ayato having to see these men lose their mind...

To the girl's horror, he was the one to put these men out their misery in cold blood. Finding out, that he felt the one responsible for these men breaking down and told everyone under his command, that he was the only one to kill them.

People would say he's nothing more than a killer to do this, but some would even argue that to feel the weight of this and to do what he felt was necessary as these soldiers were beyond anyone's help anymore.

' _I wonder...does Ayato need to leave...?_ '

She had decided to ask Julis a question that she may not want to hear at the moment.

But, she wanted her opinion on it.

"Julis, what do you think will happen when Ayato finishes his mission in Asterisk City?"

"I...don't know...?"

Her voice was shaky as the thought of someone she cared for deeply needing to leave suddenly would crush her.

There was silence as the question rung a fear deep down within both of them, they knew his job as a mercenary had him traveling around quite a bit to some of the most dangerous war zones on the planet.

Something that would drive anyone mad if someone they cared for needed to operate and live in these places for days to weeks to even months on end...

Most people wouldn't last, but for Ayato do this from a young age meant he was used to the smell of death and did not fear the concept of dying...

He told them that this is how life works for him...whether he liked it or not.

Not being able to see him for months on end would crush their spirits as the person they both were in love with, was fighting for causes he didn't even fully understand and heinous acts against the enemy they were told to fight.

"Not just black or white...but different shades of gray..."

Muttering out a phrase that Ayato had used on occasion, Julis always knew her kingdom sprung up in a difficult time, one where the world was in threat from terrorist groups and when the United States resorted to isolationism, NATO had collapsed a few years ago from the lack of American support.

The world was falling a part after such a thing happened...

With the only real military organization gone, and the only other major superpower; the United States. Not wanting to deal with another conflict as they've had their own costly wars in the past that killed thousands of their soldiers.

Luck played a huge factor for some nations and monarchies within Europe.

Her kingdom was lucky to be sparred from the attacks on cities like Berlin, and London in recent months.

Yet, she thought she understood how this city works and how the world worked in general...

However, Ayato showed her that she could never understand how bad it is. The places he's visited were nothing, but war-torn countries where children were killing each other to wars breaking out over such ridiculous reasons.

Showing her that the world was a violent place like no other.

' **Earth represents both Heaven and Hell at once.** '

Something that Ayato learned from a man he once worked with back in the Middle East, this phrase terrified Julis to some degree as she wanted to believe that her own goals outweighed everything else.

She soon began to fear of what may happen to the orphanage back in her homeland.

It wasn't long until she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked over to see Claudia concerned over her. These last few weeks had let Julis get to know Claudia better and realized that she, like her, always hid her soft and fragile side from people.

Only to see, they weren't so different from each other...

They came from wealthy and respected families with their own advantages and yet, they both fell in love with a man that, who he considered himself, another dog of war like thousands before him in both the past and present.

Trained to kill other human beings from a young age and to get the job done by any means necessary.

He came from a world unlike anything they could ever hope to understand in this lifetime, and this world broke him like many others before him. It convinced him that there was no other choice, but to accept it for it is...

Fighting was the only way to prove his determination, his strength, and his will to keep on going...

Even with all his mental stability...it didn't help throughout his time as they started to find out about his nightmares...

Neither one of them could ever hope to understand someone that went through the horrible tramua that he was forced to see throughout the years. Sometimes Ayato in the past two weeks had visited either girl when he couldn't hold himself together.

With both girls more concerned about his well-being and comforted him as they heard him vent the frustration and fear building up inside him. It wasn't common for them to see him break down and cry as the world he lived in was nothing short of hell.

Just in the span of two to three weeks, that all changed.

And yet, he continued to walk this life...

He didn't give up...he would not quit...and this was something Julis and Claudia couldn't understand.

Why would he continue to take the pain? Doesn't he feel the pain?

These were the questions they constantly asked him, and his answer broke their hearts...

' _I can't stop fighting...I just...can't live without it, you know...finding the next conflict is a part of me...and it would kill me to stop fighting...that's how fucked up I feel, it's...it's like a drug to me and I can't seem to stop taking it...no matter how hard I try..._ '

Whenever he talked to them about his experiences, he told them about the horrible things he's committed to the things he's been forced to see from people being slaughtered to the deaths of men placed under his command...and now.

Killing has become almost second nature to Ayato now...

Simply becoming another soldier of fortune that killed others simply because he was given enough money to kill them, it broke their hearts and spirits to see his emotional and mental side twisted beyond any hope for recovery.

The best way to help their lover was to stick with him, and they didn't mind either way.

In the end, they both had come to care about him...

Even if he's damaged...it just didn't matter to them.

 ***Knock, Knock***

"Claudia? Who could that be at this hour?"

Wondering who it might be, Julis walked over to the door and opened it. Revealing Saya to be standing in the doorway.

"Oh, it's you Saya. What do you need?"

Said girl had looked around Julis and narrowed her eyes, "Where is Ayato?"

"What do you mean Saya?"

Entering the room, Saya had looked around before answering Julis's question.

"I can't find Ayato and I need to talk to him about something."

"I wonder what might be so important as to wake him up at this hour of the night..."

Claudia's playful nature came out and caused Saya's cheeks to flush with red. The only reason why Saya was here because she wanted to ask Ayato to be her partner in the upcoming festa as well spending some time with him.

Ever since they had seen each for the first time in years, Ayato didn't spend much time with her and always hung around both Julis and Claudia more often than before. But, there was something else about him that Saya couldn't understand about him.

There was this look in his eye that Saya could never figure out where it came from, like someone that's seen the worst that the world has to offer and became losed within that dark, bottomless pit itself.

It...scared her, to be honest.

She always wanted to have the old innocent and shy kid that Ayato once was, back in her arms again...

However, this Ayato was different and even his sister couldn't compare to the strength she felt from him and that innocence was long gone...like it had been more ripped away from his soul rather than scrubbed clean like many others go through.

It saddened her...

"I wanted to ask him...about being my partner for the upcoming festa..."

"Oh, Saya. I don't think he told you yet, but me and him are partners already."

Julis realized that Ayato must have never told her about their partnership for the competition while they wanted to keep their private relationship as much of a secret as possible.

"Hmm...no fair..."

"But! He asked me if he could be m-my partner."

A blush appeared on her face as she hoped Saya wouldn't look past what she said and only took her words at face value.

Sighing, "Fine, but I'm asking him myself...so can you tell me where he is right now?"

Both girls remained quiet as they couldn't tell Saya about where and what Ayato was up to at the moment. It would be dangerous for her to know, and Ayato wouldn't be pleased to know his secret was told to someone.

"He must be sleeping in his dorm. It is two in the morning."

Julis tried convincing the girl, but she wouldn't fall for it.

"I know he's not in his dorm room. So where is he then?"

Claudia tried decieving her, "He does have a hobby of walking, so maybe he went out."

Saya couldn't deny that it was a possibility that he was out of his dorm room. She remained quiet as she thought about it for a few moments before saying that she'll wait to ask the question she wants an answer to.

Seeing the door close, both of them sighed.

They looked at each other for a split second before laughing, they needed a moment of joy at the moment and wanted to get their thoughts from dark things about their lover.

What both girls didn't realize were their news feed had become filled with the area near downtown was becoming a shoot-out.

Both Claudia and Julis were going to have to distract the girl for sometime until Ayato gets back from the city.

Or, whenever he comes back...

 **~o0o~**

 **Business District, Asterisk City**

 **A few minutes later**

"Shit! They're on our asses!"

Ayato and Harper were running through the alleyways between the buildings as they tried to escape the enemy mercenaries. Hiding behind one of the crumbling brick walls, using the assault rifle he grabbed from the man he killed earlier.

 ***RATATATATATATATATA***

"I forgot these guys are hardcore like that!"

Harper called out to him from the other side of the alleyway as he started firing on the mercenaries taking cover behind the debris.

"Yeah, and look where the hell we are now?"

Continuing to fire at the enemy fighters, they made sure not to stick their heads out for too long.

Within a few moments, they heard the sounds of magazines needing to be changes. The two of them used this opportunity to get out of their and began running at full speed through the traffic filled streets.

People looked on, wondering why two men were carrying guns. Only to see a few other men armed with weapons and body armor appeared from the same alleyway the other two had come from just moments ago.

Soon, the armed mercenaries began shooting at Ayato and Harper. As they took cover behind the nearby cars, they returned fire at the enemy fighters using the cars in traffic to shield them.

 ***RATATATATATATAT***

"Get down!"

Both ISD special forces operators saw people being killed in the crossfire between them.

They both know that they needed to limit the amount of innocent people dying during their operation.

It would lead the Star Hunter Guard to be suspicious of the activity within the city if there were mercenaries units fighting not too far from the downtown area.

"Ayato! We need get out of here!"

Bullets were flying overhead as they continued to pick off the mercenary units.

After firing off a burst of hot lead at the enemy, Ayato and Harper started making their towards the redevelopment zone as David and Salazar would be waiting for them. Just as they were about to clear the corner...

"Fuck!"

Feeling a sharp pain in his side, Ayato looked down to see a bullet had hit him on his left side.

He simply put the pain of being hit to the side as they were less than one click away from where they needed to meet up. Within a few minutes of running, both of them saw David and Salazar near the top floor of the same building where the incident with Julis happened.

Once they entered the building, they looked outside to see the enemy mercenaries approaching their location.

"Can we get a damn break?"

Harper reloaded his weapon and saw that Ayato had gotten wounded from one of the bullets.

"You good man?"

Nodding, "Yeah, I'll live."

"Of course, you got two attractive young ladies from your school, waiting for your sorry ass to come back."

Shaking his head at Harper's constant joking around.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Ayato readied the weapon in his hand and making sure he still ammo for it. With him picking up a few mags that the dead soldier had on him, he only had four magazines at his disposal.

"Alright, on my signal, we open up hell on thes..."

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***BANG!***

The sound of gun-fire erupted out of nowhere as the Black Sea Shark mercs started opening on the building they were in. One of them seemed to have been carrying an RPG with them and fired it at the floor above them.

With the debris from the floor above them raining over them, they moved out of the way and looked over to the stairwell and saw a few of the enemy mercenaries on their floor and had began shooting at them immediately.

Using the debris as cover, Harper picked off the enemy forces on the same floor as them.

With Ayato used the stolen weapon to fire at those below them. Just as he started reloading his weapon, he could see the ones that went up the stairs were taken care of by Salazar and Harper. Soon the other enemy soldiers saw their comrades being killed and decided that it wasn't worth killing them.

Not even realizing it, the raven haired teen finished reloading his weapon and aimed it at the retreating enemy soldiers and without warning, had opened up on them. Time seemed to have slowed down as blood could be seen from every single one of them.

Every time a brass casing had fell onto the ground, it's target was already dead.

' _I'll kill every last one of these bastards if it's the last thing I do..._ '

Just as he finished killing the last one, he could feel a hand on his shoulder.

Looking over, he saw David trying to tell him something, but with the adrenaline finally wearing off and the pain from the wound finally snapping him out of his instinctive mode to kill the enemy forces before they escaped.

"Calm down Ayato, they're all dead man."

"Hey, we got some peace and quiet around here for once."

They could hear that Ayato wanted to get his wound wrapped up before it got any worse and he lost more blood than he needs to right now.

Sitting down on one of the fallen chunks of concrete, "So what's going to be our first move then? Since well...we're going to need a day or two get ready."

Salazar started working on the wound that Ayato had received from the bullet and applied all the necessary things before wrapping him up. Knowing now that they needed to lay low for the next few days so the Star Hunter Guard doesn't catch onto them.

"Ayato, I think the first place we need to hit is the clubs near the south end of city from what we know, there's a guy by the name of Jack over there that runs most of Vendrick's operations involving clubs and most small businesses he owns."

Contemplating if this is the right move, Ayato knew quickly that they were on limited amount of time.

"Yeah, I think that's our best bet for now and once he gives a name that leads us higher up the ladder, we need to expect tougher security for each one."

"Well, this is going to be quite a busy two months or so for us..."

Ayato sighed at the prospect...

Now, he has to explain to Julis and Claudia why he got stuck out in the city..and why he has a bullet wound at the moment.

' _I have to get used to all that attention from them..._ '

" _K-kill..p-please...kill m-me..._ "

They soon heard the ragged breathing from one of the bodies of dead mercenaries. Figuring that these guys must know something about the list of the potential targets who could know about the location Vendrick.

Walking over to him, Ayato kneeled down by the man's body and checked the dog tag around the man's neck.

The man's name was Alexander Ivanov, seeing that he is off Russian origin, he started speaking to the man in his native tongue.

" _What's your name?_ "

Coughing blood, " _G-go to...h-hell.._ "

Shaking his head, Ayato took out a knife from inside his coat. The knife was soon near the man's neck as he began interrogating him.

" _Well, we're going to have to change that..._ "

He knew that his mind was broken as he tended to take things too far and for the most part, his commanders loved that part as the world knew him by a different name; the Crimson Ghost.

A soldier where he had blood from thousands of soldiers, and civilians on staining his hands and yet, no one could ever catch a glimpse of him committing these acts that would leave others in shame of what they were doing...

But, Ayato didn't have that sense of shame and only did what was necessary...

The only thing people could hear in the distance is a scream of utter pain.

"Did you have to make it so messy?"

Harper had sighed as they left the building, knowing that the Star Hunter Guard would be on the scene in moments. Just as Harper thought that, they heard sirens in the distance, and they all realized they needed some time in order for this incident to cool down.

"Look, we need to lay low for a few days and I'll contact you since I found this." He showed them a data storage device and wanted to find out any info it had. With all four of the operatives going theirs separate ways.

With these mercenaries being hired by Vendrick, they always knew about certain individuals within the crime empire of unmatched proportion.

It was important that they know about where and when certain people would be, and Ayato wanted to take advantage of this...

Feeling the sting on his side, he saw the blood stopped pouring, but he still felt the lingering pain from the bullet piercing him.

"I'm going to feel that in the morning..."

* * *

 **The first chapter of the military arc and now the plot has started moving...**

 **Well I'm disappointed in OKC now...**

 **And if you don't know, then don't worry...**

 **See ya later!**


	10. Chapter 10

" _War grows out of the desire of the individual to gain advantage at the expense of his fellow man._ " - Napoleon Hill

* * *

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 9: Remembering the Past**

 _ **Later That Night**_

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

The full moon was nearing the end of it's time as it was almost morning once again.

Luckily, it was only Saturday morning and for Ayato, this meant he could sleep in and start figuring out the names that they needed to track in order to find Vendrick's location. As he continued walking along the pathways that lead to various buildings, he could see the light to a room still on.

And this room was in the girl's dormitory.

'So they're still awake and waiting for me...'

He started feeling somewhat guilty for not contacting them after their meeting was over, but with what had happened involving the Black Sea Shark mercenaries only made it worse as his team was stuck in that engagement with them for some time.

The raven haired mercenary looked up to the night sky and in the direction of Asterisk City, he could see the massive dome that would house the students competing in the upcoming festa a few months away. Never had Ayato seen such a worthless waste of time...

Making people fight, and possibly die, in the name of some wish that may or may not be fulfilled at the end of this hardship...

Then what...

For Ayato, this was the reason he wanted to avoid having anything to do with these academies...

Though he had an obligation to participate as he promised to Julis that he would be her partner for the festa, and with training being in just a few short hours, all the boy could think about is sleeping until then.

But.

He needed to tell the girls that he was here. Trying to make sure not to wake the other girls in the dorm as he began using his abilities and skills to scale the ten story building. His wound didn't seem to get any worse.

Ayato would take care of it later as it was nothing more than a gash across his side, something that can be fixed using gauze wrapped around his torso and that would be the end of it.

Unless the girls had something to say about it...

' _They would kill me if I didn't tell them about the wound..._ '

Just as he reached Claudia's room, he knocked on the glass before entering and saw both girls were sleeping by now. Claudia had fallen asleep on the chair she was sitting in with her head moved towards the side. While Julis was laying on the couch with a bit of drool coming from her mouth.

Smiling at the sight, Ayato walked over and kissed them both on the forehead before walking back towards the window.

Until...

"Hmmm...A-Ayato...i-is that you?"

Julis was the first to wake up as there were signs showing that she was still sleepy. Looking over to the window to see that Ayato was about to leave, she called out to him.

"W-what happened that took you so long?"

She seemed to have started losing the sleepiness in her voice and was more concerned than anything else as she nor Claudia haven't had any contact with him since they called him almost four hours ago. For her, there must have been something that happened if he hadn't called them back.

"Uh...yeah, there was somethings that happened along the way, but is wasn't all that bad."

"Are you ok then?"

Ayato wanted to tell the girls, but this wound nothing more than just a flesh wound as the bullet only pierced his side and none of his organs were damaged in the process. Though the chances of him getting away with this weren't very good.

"For the most part..."

It was the best response to her question, in the raven haired teen's mind.

Though Julis's expression made it seem like she picked up on the 'most part' of his response.

"What do you mean by that, Ayato is there something that you're not telling me."

The princess had narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer towards Ayato. It was when she got closer to him did she smell the scent of blood, smoke, and gunpowder on him, it seems like he was in a fight in the city.

"Did you get into a gun fight in the city?"

Ayato rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile, "Heh...yeah, my team got into some trouble with some other mercs in the city. Ended up having to kill the poor bastards in the end...though they had their uses in the end."

Julis had placed her hand on his cheek, causing the raven haired teen to look at her.

"Why did you have to kill them? Wasn't just escaping them enough?"

While the girl knew it was his job to kill, but he couldn't find another way to settle things. She knew this was a world unlike anything before with all the dangers hiding in the shadows of not only this city, but in every corner of the world.

The mercenary wrapped his arms around Julis and held her close. With said girl blushing from the intimate contact with him.

"I know you want me to stop doing this, but...I'm stuck like this Julis. Besides, we couldn't let those men get away and inform their boss of our presence in the city. It would only ruin our only chance to prevent what may happen in the coming weeks."

His tone had became serious the moment it was about his job.

Knowing that killing was nothing more than a result of doing his job, Julis at times felt helpless when her lover; who seemed so considerate of others, and shouldered the burdens of others. And now, she saw those demons plaguing him.

Death always hung around soldiers, and mercenaries were no better as instead of a cause to fight for, it was money.

Yet, Ayato never truly joined this occupation because he wanted the money for doing so nor the fame, or infamy of being one. It was because he was lost in this world, where there was no purpose to his life and now...

Now, he was broken as his mind was almost split in half; one side was the side he retained since childhood while the other was a monster that stalked the battlefield with the intent of spilling blood onto the Earth.

These thoughts alone always caused Julis feel sadness and despair, the feeling of heartache and not being able to help the man she loved was too much for her at times.

"Hey Julis, please don't think about that stuff..."

Ayato saw the tears gathering in her eyes as he figured it must have been his problems that she was thinking about.

"B-but...I w-want to he-help you... through y-your pain yet, I-I feel l-like I can't t-though."

Her voice had become shaky the more she continued on. The mercenary felt horrible hearing someone he deeply cared about, feeling like they couldn't do anything to help the state he was in. He wanted her to understand that this was his problem.

If these nightmares, tendencies, and stress that came with it, then he would endure them in the end.

Tears started streaming down her face, Ayato started speaking to her gently as possible while moving a strand of hair from her face.

"Julis, please don't cry. We all go through things in life, and this was what I needed to. This profession was chosen by me, and only me in the end. Baby, whatever happens along the way...no matter how messed up it is, that's what I have to go through...coming to see you and Claudia helps with all the god awful things that I've experienced. It's because of you two, that my mind is still in one piece..."

Lifting her head by her chin, she saw a smile that was full of pain and yet, there was genuine happiness there as well.

"My love for both of you guys can't be measured at all..."

Julis moved closer as her lips were brushing against his as she spoke, "And I can't tell you how much I love you Ayato..."

The two shared kiss as they let whatever emotions feed into it. When the two broke away for air, Ayato laid his head on her shoulder.

"I don't like it whenever you're sad Julis."

"And I don't like it when I know there's a chance you might get hurt..."

Julis countered with a fear that has haunted her since she found out about his occupation. It was then that Julis saw that Ayato was running on nothing, but fumes at this point. Knowing that he probably hasn't slept since a few days ago after starting his mission here in the city.

"Come on, you must be tired after all that."

Holding onto his hand, the two started walking towards the couch until Julis bite her lip in thought for a second, ' _Should I?_ '

Deciding that it wouldn't hurt, she had asked him.

"A-Ayato, do you mind...if you came to m-my dorm to sleep s-since it's closer..."

She couldn't fight down the blush that appeared on her face. Though Ayato heard what she was asking and wasn't against the idea, he just hoped that she didn't get in trouble because at this point, Ayato was just ready to lie down on a bed.

"I-I mean...if it's okay, then I'm not against the idea."

The raven haired teen was worried that the people who run the female dorms might catch them, though with the lack of no sleep, he honestly didn't care about any of that. He told her to wait a second when he remembered something.

Ayato looked over to Claudia, who was still asleep and decided that she would probably have some pain in her neck. Out of kindness and love, he lifted the girl off the chair and carried her to her bedroom. Once he put her down on the bed, he looked at her calm expression and gave a her a kiss on the lips.

"Night Claudia, and I'll see ya in the morning."

He had told those words to her before leaving the room.

"Come on, I'm ready to drop dead."

A carefree smile appeared on the mercenary's face and Julis returned the smile.

Deciding that the safest route was to climb the outside portion of the building in order not to be caught, Ayato would have to carry Julis given the boy's experience with scaling buildings for his own job as well as hobby from time to time.

The morning sky was bleeding into the night sky with it being clear of clouds when Ayato looked outside.

Once Julis got onto his back, he started scaling the building using his abilities as a Genestella and his own training to help him. Though the girl on his back saw how he was able to grab the ledges and places where his hands could hold onto with ease.

It still amazed her at how he was able to do things that not many people, even those a part of the Genestella generation, couldn't do.

"Where did you learn to do this?"

He replied vaguely, though she heard sorrowfulness in his response.

"An old friend of mine taught me..."

She decided not to inquire any further as Julis didn't want to bring up any bad memories for him. The two remained quiet until they reached the same window that Ayato remembered from the first day they met.

It wasn't a pleasant one.

They entered Julis's room, with all the plants and flowers blooming in her room, it always felt different for Ayato everytime he came here. However, he couldn't really think all that much as sleep was beginning to take over.

Ayato hadn't noticed that Julis went towards the bathroom. When he walked over to her bed and sat on the edge, the mercenary still couldn't stop thinking about what they needed to do in order to find Vendrick and what his possible link to the PLM may be.

But...

With rumors from crime organizations, that the leader of the PLM had been on a target of the United States back during the eighties by the name of Raul Menedez, though it couldn't be proven he was their leader for sure. For Ayato, this was his chance along with his team to find out if this was true or not.

And if Vendrick did have contact with the PLM, then he had met with their leader before.

So this was the chance of a lifetime for the ISD to find out about the enemy's leader and find his location in order to hunt him down...

The boy was lost in his thoughts as he didn't notice Julis walking back into the room. It wasn't until she tapped his shoulders did he finally notice her presence in the room.

"Oh y..you're b-back..."

Ayato's voice got lost in his throat as he saw Julis was wearing a light pink, short sleeved nightgown that floated down to her knees. Her long, rose colored hair was free and let down without any accessories of the sort, with a shy smile on her lips.

A soft hue of pink adorned her cheeks as she sat next to him.

"S-so...I-I...ummm..."

It would take an utter moron not to tell that Julis was nervous and while Ayato didn't show it, he didn't really fall asleep with a girl in his arms very often, or at all. So this would be a first for him as well.

The raven haired teen reached for her hand and gripped it tightly, "I guess I ain't the only nervous one here. But just try to calm down."

"It isn't easy Ayato...sharing a bed with someone other than your own parents, it takes some adjustment."

Understanding where she was coming from, Ayato kicked off his shoes and wrapped his arms around Julis's waist. Fatigue was catching up to him and his eyes were on the verge of closing for the night.

"W-what are y-you doing?"

She hissed at him as they were laying in her bed, though she finally realized that he was on the verge of falling asleep. After a bit of moving around and getting the covers over them, the two were facing each other as Ayato was trying to stay awake to the best of his ability.

The princess could see that he was beyond fatigued and with the stress that came with his job. Her hands cupped his cheek when Julis started speaking again in a soft tone.

"Ayato...c-can you promise m-me something?"

"Y-yeah...what is it?"

Sleep was trying to keep Ayato down, but he manages to stay awake long enough to hear what Julis wanted him to promise her. He suspected it involved his job, though he didn't blame her for what she must have wanted.

"No matter what happens, can you always come back to me and Claudia...p-please. Losing you is..i-is..."

The words couldn't come out of her mouth until Ayato stopped her from continuing with a kiss, but there was something more to it. With the passion behind it, the mercenary wanted to show that he wasn't going anywhere and he wasn't going to disappoint her.

As both teens pulled away, Julis didn't say anything...but a smile was on her face.

"I promise you Julis that I'll always come back to you guys. Doesn't matter where I am..."

Just as he said that, he had fallen asleep from exhaustion and fell into the arms of sleep.

Being so close to him, she looked closely at his face to see some of the scars he's gathered over the years. There were only a few scars present on Ayato's face as from what he told her that his body has taken a beating over the years.

Julis shook those thoughts away as she could feel his arms wrap tightly around her waist and drew the princess in. Though without even thinking she closed the gap between them and basked within his warmth.

Her head in the crook of his neck as sleep was drawing her in as well.

' _Please...Ayato...I don't want you to disappear from my life..._ '

Soon Julis fell asleep in Ayato's arms, but said person was experiencing something that was normal for all war veterans; horrible nightmares of their own past combat experiences. And he wasn't immune to this effect either.

With this particular memory being nothing short of one of the worst things that he's ever experienced in his career.

"N-no...it c-can't be..."

 **~o0o~**

 **Two years ago**

 **["Hell's Personal Package"]**

 **[October 5th, 2023 - 18:27:39]**

 **[Lt. Ayato A** **magiri]**

 **[** **2nd shock company]**

 **[Colombian/Venezuelain border]**

 _"Yo Ayato! We need get ready! Intel told us that the rebels are on the move along the border and heading for the shipment's location!"_

 _A soldier had called out to Ayato, who was looking over the vast jungles that seemed to stretch for miles in every direction._

 _With many soldiers seeing that this place was a hell unlike anything else..._

 _The jungles of South America had been nothing, but hell with the recent fighting involving the rebel fighters and the government forces that were severly undermanned against the well-armed rebel fighters that wanted nothing more than to tear down the government._

 _And within a few weeks, the whole region of Colombia and Venezuela had fallen a part after the governments were overrun with enemy fighters in the capital cities of Bogota and Caracas._

 _Within the following days, presidents of both countries were seen dragged through the streets and beaten live for the world to see, and with the International Security Department being called in by what remained of the government officials to help end the conflict that tore the region to pieces._

 _It was Ayato's team that was sent in along with a few other units to support government forces in search and destroy operations of enemy bases along the border of what remained of the two countries that were in complete and utter chaos._

 _"Alright Harper! I'll be there!"_

 _Life as a mercenary was becoming more and more normal, as his mind was broken, and traumatized by the sheer level of violence, pressure, and deaths that the boy has seen over the years. Looking down at his hands, he gripped the black mask he has become accustomed to for the past two years. It was something a friend of his gave to him before he was killed in an operation they both took part in._

 _Soon the world heard about the ISD beginning S &D operations in the region for weapon caches, bases, and even kill anybody who has anything to do with the enemy fighters in the region. It wasn't something some countries agreed with while others were perfectly fine with it as it would bring back stability to the region._

 _But..._

 _Recent fighting between the ISD special forces operators and the enemy fighters were nothing, but hell itself as the fanatical fighters were from all corners of the continent. From drug dealers, to former soldiers of the government, had joined this group._

 _Most fire-fights broke out during the night, and with the mercenaries being outnumbered had caused these battles to rage on for days on end. Causing most of the ISD's forces to be constantly on guard in case the enemy forces ever tried attacking them._

 _The world had seen that for the ISD, it was becoming their own version of Vietnam with an enemy that can not be seen and slips away into the jungles that they have grown up in their whole life._

 _However, the ISD made sure their forces were trained in jungle warfare to combat the rebels with the best chance possible. Although there's a difference to be trained for it and knowing the region like the back of your hand. It was made very clear since day one._

 _With almost two months gone by and the region was still in chaos as the enemy forces simply melted away everytime when they knew a battle was out of their reach against the ISD. It was becoming a nightmare for the mercenaries as the terrain, natural hazardous, and the enemy itself._

 _Put it simply; it was hell._

 _Ayato soon promoted and was given overall command of the ISD's 2nd shock company; comprised of over a hundred-something soldiers. This was after he successfully lead an attack on a heavily defended Puerto Carreo, one of the cities that is on the border with Venezuela._

 _They soon had gotten reports that the rebels were to receive a chemical weapon shipment on a cargo plane, that was until it was shot down by government forces over an hour ago._

 _Now the ISD council ordered Ayato and his company to retrieve the contents._

 _Overhead there were a few Vulture gunships to support them as they were to be flown within ten miles of the crash site._

 _As the unit was to be flown in by UH-60 Blackhawks during the cover of darkness. It was simply a recovery mission for his unit, though Ayato couldn't get the feeling that something bad may happen along the way._

 _The ISD mercenaries were starting to load into their aircraft as the gunships scanned the area to make sure there weren't any enemy fighters approaching their site. The raven haired teen was wearing camouflaged pants, a black long sleeved shirt, and was wearing a tactical vest with a myriad of explosives in a pouch. With a pair of headphones around his neck as well. On his back was a scabboard for a sword, one unlike anything ever seen before._

 _In his fingerless gloves was a modernized AK-74 with a grip underneath the barrel of the weapon and red dot sight as well as strap. Just as Ayato got onto the helicopter transport, he looked around to see his teammates were all inside. Right when the transport took off from the ground, he looked at the black mask._

 _This was his way to make sure the world wouldn't know that it was a human hunting down the enemy, but it was a ghost. A way to cause fear in the hearts of their enemy._

 _Putting on the black mask, there was a white ghost design over the face and the last thing he placed on was a pair of black sunglasses. He placed the headphones on as the radio chatter from the aircraft were kept to a minimum in order to avoid detection_

 _"This is Raptor 2-4! We're all clear sir of any enemy forces nearby."_

 _Reaching for his headphones, "Copy that Raptor 2-4. Just make sure the area is clear and we'll be good to go."_

 _"Read you loud and clear, Disciple."_

 _In total, there were seven Blackhawks being escorted by a few Vulture gunships, who were carrying the snipers of their unit, to provide support for their operation to recover the shipment that was within the downed cargo plane._

 _Above them was the light of the full moon as the rain forest below them could be seen for miles in every direction. Everyone was silent as the only source of chatter was among the pilots as they coordinated where they were going to land and the aircraft's engine._

 _The raven haired teen with his mask on, looked at the ground below to see the rivers that went on for miles on this continent._

 _He knew his family, or his father in reality, would be horrified at the chance of hearing what his only son was doing in a placed like this. One where survival was slim and the chance of dying far exceeded what the reward was._

 _But, Ayato didn't care..._

 _It was his job and he was going to get it done even if it kills him in the end._

 _Within almost fifteen minutes of flying over jungles, rivers, and large hills. The task force of mercenaries soon passed a few wreckages of ISD aircraft from earlier battles in the region from a few weeks ago._

 _'_ So many died here... _'_

 _Having known about the battle that took place in this area, this was possibly the ISD's worse lost of the conflict. It was known that enemy forces from a recent encounter fallen back into the thick of the jungle and disappeared._

 _So, the commanders in charge of this operation sent in a unit to find and eliminate these remaining forces before they caused problems else where._

 _Though the commanders didn't anticipate the fighters to have RPGs and heavy machine guns cut the support the soldiers had. And it turned into a massacre as almost a hundred mercenaries of the ISD were lost._

 _Quickly shaking the thoughts of this battle, Ayato focused on the task ahead of him. It was here that he could finally see the faint traces of smoke in the distance and as they grew closer, the more prevalent it became._

 _Soon everyone was able to see the trail of destruction left by the cargo plane carrying the weapon they received reports about._

 _"Alright boys! This is the LZ!"_

 _Ayato gave out the order, "Boots on the ground now! We need to secure that crashsite before those rebels get there first."_

 _Soon most of the Blackhawks started hovering over the canopy of the jungle and the soldiers started rappling down to the ground. They all landed on the jungle floor as they made sure the area around them wasn't crawling with enemy forces._

 _Many of them were on edge from the recent weeks of non-stop fighting against the enemy fighters. Though there was one thing they all could hear, or couldn't hear..._

 _Silence._

 _Nothing could be heard as all the mercenaries were put on edge by the lack of noise from even wildlife here. Once all the soldiers had made it onto the ground, the Blackhawk pilot soon contacted Ayato._

 _"Alright sir, that's about all of you. Disciple, we're bingo on fuel and we're RTB. Good hunting out there boys."_

 _"Got it, just get out of here Yankee 1-1."_

 _All that remained were the Vulture gunships providing support for them from above as a few of them carried snipers from their unit. Soon Ayato gave out the order for the company to start moving towards the crash-site._

 _Every single one of them moved forward with caution as they checked the canopy above them for any enemy fighters that may be hiding up there. In order to minimize the chance of being discovered, they didn't use flashlights and used night-vision goggles in the darkness._

 _For Ayato, his glasses doubled for this purpose and once they were a few miles away from the target. It was still eerily quiet as the gunships told them that there wasn't anybody besides them heading for the crash-site._

 _Once they hit a fork in the pathway, where there was another route heading for the high ground, "Jackson, I want you and your squad to head along this path to make sure there aren't any snipers or, enemy troops waiting to ambush us. Got it?"_

 _"Yes sir." The soldier responded as he began barking the orders he was given to his squad._

 _Ayato instructed about twenties soldiers to head along this route to cover their approach for the crash-site._

 _"Be careful up there Whiskey team. There ain't no telling what's up there."_

 _Telling his men to be cautious of may lie in front of them. While he kept the rest of his men with him as they continued traveling along the main route towards the site, it was here did the feeling in his gut got worse._

 _'_ Somethings wrong here... _'_

 _It was here when he and his men started hearing rustling above them. Then there was a loud noise in the distance as gun-fire could he heard on their right; the same trail Whiskey team was sent along and from where they were, the mercenaries soon saw an explosion go off where those same men were near._

 _"Whiskey team! Do you copy?!"_

 _Ayato called for them until he got a response from them, "Shit!...we got hit hard from the fighters. Bastards killed a few of us already and I got about five or six wounded here...sir, we need to...Fuck! Get down!"_

 ** _*BOOOOMMMM*_**

 ** _*RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT*_**

 _"...I-I don't know how much longer we can hold out! The enemy forces already picked most of us off. I got maybe nine of eight guys that can stand and fight, but I got six wounded here with the rest dead."_

 _Quickly trying to figure out a way to help his men, soon more gun-fire could be heard in the distance as all the raven haired teen could hear was static on his radio. He smashed his hand against the nearby tree, causing it to splinter with the inhumane strength someone from the Genestella generation possessed._

 _He had lost about twenty soldiers already and they haven't even gotten to the crashsite. Contacting the gunships a few miles away from them._

 _"Raptor 2-4! Do you copy, we need you to keep a close eye on the crashsite and provide support."_

 _But..._

 _"Sorry sir, we detected three ZPU anti-aircraft weapons in the area and by the looks of it. We can't risk losing any birds on this mission, until you get rid of that ZPU, until then we cannot and I repeat, cannot provide support until you knock those weapon systems out."_

 _With no air support and with the enemy having the high ground, this mission was already looking terrible for their unit._

 _"Alright Charlie company, we need to keep moving towards the crash-site and knock out those ZPUs in the area. Be careful, we already lost about twenty men and the enemy have the high ground."_

 _Soon they were back on the move and carefully moving through the rain forest._

 _It was when they heard gunshots being fired in their direction did they take cover using the trees. Ayato assumed that it was a sniper in the area, he quietly instructed a few of men to go around the snipers and to take him out._

 _Darkness was on their side as the mercenaries circled around the sniper in the tree, with them looking over to where Ayato was and he nodded towards them._

 _Quietly, the soldiers shot at the sniper in the tree and effectively killed him with no other fighters being alerted to the gun noise. Once they removed the sniper and continued forward for a few minutes until they could finally see the smoke from the downed aircraft, they all thought that mission was almost over until sounds of clicking could be heard about ten yards to the raven haired mercenary's right._

 _'_ No, no, no... _'_

 _His fears were confirmed the moment he saw some of his men on the left were killed by a mine that was exploded by them._

 ** _*BOOOMMM*_**

 _It was then that all hell had opened up on them._

 _ ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***_

 ** _*BANG, BANG*_**

 _"Get behind cover! Now!"_

 _The mercenaries were soon surrounded in all directions by the enemy fighters. They used the trees for cover, but it was futile as bullets were coming from all directions towards the mercenaries. Soon Ayato witnessed more of his men being killed by gun fire._

 _As the raven haired teen tried his best to contact the gunships, the amount of chaos going on all around them was beyond measurable._

 _Hell couldn't be used to describe the situation at hand._

 _"Raptor 2-4! We are in need of support! Now, we got enemy forces surrounding us and I'm losing men faster than I can count!"_

 _"Disciple, we'll try our best to support you guys...but with the ZPUs in the area won't make that easy. Just hold out for as long as you guys can and I'll see if the base can scrounge up a few drones to support you guys."_

 _His answer wasn't what Ayato needed to hear, but it was the best they were going to get for now._

 _"We need to hold out for a little bit longer!"_

 _From what the teen could see, there was possibly thirty to thirty-five men left from the initial attack of the enemy. That was until they heard screams and sounds of footfalls from all directions heading towards them, and that was when Ayato realized they were charging them._

 _'_ This isn't good! _'_

 ** _*RATATATATATATATATATATAT*_**

 _The mercenaries continued firing at the fighters, trying their best to kill as many of them as possible and keep them away until they could receive support to clear these fighters out._

 _It soon turned for the worse as their defensive perimeter was broken and the battle became close quarter combat. One of them ran up to Ayato, but he managed to dodge the initial attack and grab the man by his neck and break it with enough pressure._

 _Reaching for his assault rifle, Ayato started shooting at the enemy forces rushing at them and killed them. This was happening everywhere as grenades were being thrown by the mercenaries to clear the rebels out while the close quarter combat was taking a turn for the worse._

 _Everything slowed down for the young man as he looked around to see his men being killed and the only option for them was to fall back as quickly as possible. Though that wasn't an option anymore as they were cut off from making an escape._

 _Seeing an enemy using a machete to decapitate the head of a mercenary. This was the carnage that was being kept away from the world's view, Ayato didn't expect many to bear through watching fights with blood being spilled by machetes._

 _Looking over to his left, he saw one the younger members of his unit being overwhelmed by one of the fighters. The rebel fighter pulled out a bowie knife from his pocket and ripped the young soldier's throat out, leaving him to choke as blood continued to fall._

 _"_ That's what these Western people get! Keep killing as many of them as possible my brothers! _"_

 _Understanding what the rebel said, his anger rose and approached the fighter as he pulled something from a scabboard on his back._

 _Anger was an emotion that the young teen rarely felt, though he was capable of doing things that most people wouldn't cross like killing others and his anger was something he made sure to keep in check as this was a place for only logic and quick-thinking._

 _Not emotions. But, there are times that it does slip and Ayato isn't immune to this._

 _He is, after all, human._

 _"Eat this bastard..." The sword was pulled out of it's container and in downward slashing motion, soon the man saw his body cut down the middle with his body falling to the ground. It was a bloody mess as he was cut through perfectly._

 _The teen looked over to see the young soldier dead as his wounds were to great for any help, and being in a jungle in South America didn't help at all._

 _'_ He's gone... _'_

 _He continued firing at the enemy fighters as they continued pouring out of the jungle. The mercenaries continued falling back, while using the trees as cover to bring their wounded away from the battle._

 _"Medic! We got a man wounded here!"_

 _"I'm almost out here!"_

 _"There's too many of them! We're going to get killed by these fighters at this rate!"_

 _There was shouting everywhere as his entire unit was crumbling from the enemy forces relentless assault on them, and soon he saw David running up to him with Salazar right behind him. While Harper was covering the south side of what was left of their perimeter._

 _"Ayato, it's no use! We got these bastards everywhere and we're losing men quicker than we can count. Getting out of here is necessary right now."_

 _Said person kept on shooting at the enemy, "Well what are we supposed to do David? Because the way I see it, the rebels got our asses surrounded and we can't seem to get out of this little problem at the moment."_

 _It was getting more and more desperate as wave after wave of fighters charged at the dwindling number of ISD operators. It was becoming dire until his radio sparked to life once more._

 _This time, it was something good for once._

 _"Disciple, this is Drone Command here. There's a predator a few thousand feet above you guys with a full payload of missiles ready to hit the enemy forces."_

 _Grabbing the radio, "Glad to hear it, we got enemy forces approaching us from everywhere. But most of them are approaching from the north."_

 _"Coordinates?" The operator of the drone asked for._

 _"Danger close, at Grid ES 923-945, over."_

 _The drone operator remained quiet for a few seconds until she spoke up, "Got it right here and be prepared for one loud wake-up call boys."_

 _All of them continued firing at the enemy, it was until they heard the sounds of explosions in the distance. The missiles had hit their targets as the enemy forces were cut off from any more reinforcements. Above them, they saw the cause of it; it was an attack drone sent in to support them._

 _Soon sounds of engines could be heard as the Vulture gunships started firing at the treeline. It was here that the enemy started retreating once they saw the mercenaries receive air support and saw their ZPUs were taken out._

 _"_ Retreat! The soldiers have gotten help from above! _"_

 _Understanding what the enemy commander had yelled out to his men, they knew they were retreating after they received help in the form of air strikes and not a moment too soon as they were down to just thirty men in total._

 _Within over two hours worth of fighting, they lost about forty soldiers from being ambushed._

 _Sighing as the Vulture gunships made sure they weren't any more surprises in store for the soldiers ahead of them. Ayato soon received a message from the drone operator._

 _"Disciple, I'm returning the drone back to base. Good luck with the rest of your mission."_

 _Her voice cut out, the teen soon looked around. As the wounded were being transported onto the Blackhawks as they needed serious medical attention. While they were still a few miles away from the site, they didn't know what to expect..._

 _Even if the gunships checked, they couldn't be one hundred percent sure they wouldn't get another surprise like that again._

 _"Ayato...come one man, we need to get moving from here. They're sure to defend the site now and I don't want something like a chemcial weapon being used on people."_

 _David tried to get his friend to continue onward with the mission. He knew that Ayato was nothing more than a kid who learned the reality of things from being a mercenary. The young man got up from the fallen over tree he was sitting on and started walking in the direction of his men._

 _"Guys! I know we're all tired, but we have a job to do and some of you rely on a paycheck to feed your families. As well as all of you guys wanting to go back to yout families soon, and not in a bodybag."_

 _He paused for a second before continuing, "I promise you this much, I will make sure that none of you have to go home in a bodybag. Which means I'll go with just a few men who are willing to volunteer to retrieve the chemical weapon while the rest of you stand by to get some rest and wait for my orders to secure the area once my team has secured the package."_

 _Many of them didn't say a word, until they all nodded with an expression of both relief and guilt._

 _Walking away from them, his own teammates were waiting for them._

 _"Huh, didn't expect you to say something like that. Although with what's happened in the last few hours...I don't blame you though. So come on man, we gotta get there before the rebels do."_

 _Harper was the first to speak up and as they were walking towards the Blackhawk that would be taking them further along the river that lead up to the area in which the downed cargo plane had crashed._

 ** _X-X-X_**

 ** _Columbian/Venezuelan border_**

 ** _*A few miles down the river*_**

 _The helicopter flowed the winding river as the trail of smoke in the distance could be seen once again until they noticed something else in the jungle, and they realized it wasn't an enemy force or structure_

 _Harper was the first to point out something in the trees, "Nothing so far... Wait, something in the trees."_

 _It was a Vulture gunship that was shot down in this area of the region, although this was one of their escorts for this mission as they saw the bodies of the snipers dead. Once they saw the fire from the tail, all of the realized whoever took it down had anti-air weapons to hit something like their gunships in this tight space._

 _All of them had started looking at the ground, wondering who was down there and waiting for them._

 _"Whatever happened, we just missed it." Salazar looked at the crashed aircraft with a bad feeling of what may happen later on._

 _Getting onto the radio, Ayato spoke with the pilot of the Vulture gunship sent in with them to escort them. "We got a downed bird here...talk to me."_

 _With the pilot a head of them reporting back to them, "There's nothing out here guys. I don't see anything on the scanners either out here. But just be careful on the ground, no telling what could be down there with all the critters."_

 _"Bullshit, something's out there."_

 _Harper was more than unhappy to hear that the pilots didn't see anything happen to one of their own. It was when Ayato spoke up and asked Salazar as he was on the radio speaking with a few of the people from Intel._

 _Ayato finally asked him, "Salazar, what the hell happened?_

 _That's the problem Ayato, there's nothing here."_

 _The man's response left the other occupants of the aircraft in silence until Harper made a comment._

 _"Yeah, right..."_

 _In the background, Ayato listened to the sounds of radios going off._

 _It was here that the teen mumbled out a few words when he saw the smoke from the downed aircraft, "Huh, it must be near if the smoke is getting this bad. And besides I think the enemy is going to give up so easily."_

 _The pilot of the Vulture gunship spoke up._

 _"This is Centurion 3-1, I see you Yankee 1-1, welcome to paradise boys."_

 _Once they hit the ground, on top of a ridge was the wreckage of the aircraft that was reported to carry chemical weapons from an unknown source. While the ISD wanted to track down this source, the battle with the rebel fighters has forced them to leave behind that notion._

 _"Something's not right..."_

 _Hearing his fellow mercenary, Salazar had asked him what he originally said, "Say again?"_

 _"I have a bad feeling about this man...with the enemy forces in the jungle, this isn't a good situation to be in."_

 _Ayato spoke what was on his mind, and the first one to agree with him was Harper._

 _"I'm glad I ain't the only one to think that this situation isn't the best with the lack of info we have going in at the moment with the enemy forces retreating into this area. Add in the fact that one of our birds got shot down by someone, leads me to believe that the rebels were getting help from the outside."_

 _Everyone knew that the situation was precarious once they saw the wreckage of the Vulture gunship._

 _"This is Centurion 3-1. They found it, just ahead. Patching you through."_

 _David's radio went off as the pilot of the forward gunships had finally contacted them about the location of the cargo planes wreckage. The silence among the team was only amplified when the full moon loomed over them._

 _"This is Wolf 10, I have visual confirmation, ground zero. Bodies and cargo all over the place, I say again, I have visual confirmation..."_

 _Harper looked over to Ayato, "Ayato, we need to land the Blackhawks and secure the wreckage as quickly as possible with how the enemy still hasn't appeared again after the beating we gave them not too long ago."_

 _"Wolf 10, this is Centurion 3. Follow me, you can land over here."_

 _One of the other Blackhawks with the team carried the only other troops they had with them for the time being until the other soldiers. And with what Ayato told the rest of his company that he would give them the order to clear out the area._

 _As the Vulture gunships made sure the wreckage was clear as the troops aboard the transports didn't have any opposition._

 _"Disciple, this is Wolf 10. I have limited ground support, dropping now."_

 _Both helicopters had their occupants rappel down to the ground as they met up with each other. There was only ten of them in total with six being mercenaries that volunteered to join Ayato and his men to finish the mission they were given._

 _The leader of the six man squad was a man by the name of Jack Mitchell, a man in his mid thirties that was a veteran of the past few conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan_

 _"We're all yours, sir. Where do you want us?"_

 _"I need two of your best marksmen to cover us from the high ground and make sure there aren't any surprises ahead of us. The rest of your men, follow my lead. NOW!"_

 _Listening to Ayato's order, the older veteran told his men the same order and as the two groups split up and started making their way towards the crash-site and the lead gunship gave out an order to the others with them._

 _"Activity, they're headed right for you! Movement! Centurions 4 and 5, air support, now!"_

 ** _*RATATATATATATATAT*_**

 _Gun-fire could be heard as Ayato and the others were ambushed and took cover as the enemy fighters started making their move with firing RPGs and using the treeline as cover. With the support from gunships had helped to wash away the little resistance that remained._

 _Continuing to fight their way through the light defenses the enemy put up, the mercenaries were wary of how it was going so far._

 _"This is too easy..."_

 _Salazar said over the radio as he brought up the rear._

 _It was here one of the Vulture gunships called out to the rest of the soldiers on the ground at the moment, "This is Centurion 5! Enemy helicopters, incoming! By the looks of it PLM forces, three MI-28..."_

 _It was here that they witnessed the Vulture gunship being shot down as Russian-built MI-28s were protecting a couple of MI-8s. Once they saw the symbol of the PLM, the team knew this situation was desperate._

 _"Centurion 4 to base. Come in, base. we're getting..."_

 _Once again another gunship was shot down by the Russian built aircraft and their sole remaining gunship began taking a defensive position near the mercenaries who were going to be at the mercy of the enemy air power._

 _"They were just waiting for us..."_

 _Soon the last gunship was knocked out of the sky and left Ayato and his team exposed with the enemy having the advantage._

 _With both Centurions 4 and 5 are shot down by Russian-built Hinds, and the Hinds start to ropes down soldiers, ones that are a part of the PLM. One of the main terrorist organizations that exist out there._

 _With its roots in the anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist movements of the early 2010s, the PLM started small, but its message resonated across the globe; with economies crumbling and a growing number of poor and unemployed worldwide, the inequality between the impoverished and the elite would no longer stand._

 _Despite meriting little consideration at first from the billionaires and corporations they opposed, the group persisted and soon became a global movement._

 _Of all of these splinter groups, one in particular, Project Havoc, seemed to have the greatest resonance and organization. They arranged a number of simultaneous guerrilla sit-ins and demonstrations at some of the world s greatest financial centers._

 _Many of these demonstrations turned violent, and a number of Project Havoc members were arrested. A number of governments began to monitor social media and private electronic communications in order to target the suspected leaders._

 _This, in turn, sparked more demonstrations and riots, generating further animosity and increased force on all sides. What was once a group that was capable of only very loosely organizing riots became a threatening organization capable of staging all-out military operations._

 _These activist groups outstanding growth was largely attributed to the clever utilization of the Internet._

 _Savvy activists took to message boards, forums, and social media sites in order to convince like-minded individuals to join their cause, planning protests and demonstrations to spread their message. Though these organized events were at first peaceful, they became increasingly violent, and began to be met with militant force by local law enforcement, sometimes to terrifying consequences._

 _Rather than being cowed by the resistance, however, the activists fought back, growing more sophisticated in terms of their organization. One of the results was that it led to a subset of extreme activist cells._

 _The PLM is made up of a loosely connected group of militant activists, their numbers drawn from a deep pool of bright-eyed masses who operate with a dangerous notion of righteousness._

 _While many come from poor or impoverished regions where there is little wealth to begin with, others are university-educated and fired up to change the world by whatever means necessary. As many of their members had no work, no options, and no future before turning to the PLM, it has given them a fierce sense of purpose._

 _It was one of the more dangerous ones as it's ability to attract people had many countries fear them. And with their leader in complete mystery, it made the world hunt down anybody that seemed to be connected to them in any way._

 _Their threat level increased the moment they received weapons and vehicles to wage battle unlike anything before them._

 _"We got PLM forces coming towards us!"_

 _Salazar called out to them as the others that remained kept a position with cover as the enemy started firing at them._

 _They cleared the area out by fighting their way through the PLM forces and started moving towards the area just before the cargo plane._

 _"Don't quit now! The hinds are gone - we still got a chance!"_

 _Harper spoke up as they clear the area of all the PLM forces and saw the broken portion of the cargo plane's wing creating a bridge for them to use in order to cross the space between the ridge and the ground._

 _"That's the last of 'em. That's why the hinds went away. They can't leave any evidence behind that they were here or the world will have a way to track them down through the evidence."_

 _As the enemy forces were limited, Salazar had called out to the other members._

 _"The cargo must have been Nova 6. Whoever it is wouldn't go to all this trouble for nothing."_

 _"We'll have to climb that wing to reach the fuselage."_

 _David had directed where they could cross in order to enter the interior of the cargo plane._

 _Ayato called out to his team, "I'll go first guys."_

 _"Take it easy Ayato."_

 _Salazar told the younger member of the team._

 _"I'll stabilize at this end." Both David and Harper held onto the end of the plane's wing to make sure it didn't move as they walked across the surface of it. While they were crossing, the only thing they could hear was the rustling of the trees._

 _It was here that they entered the fuselage of the plane and started searching through the empty crates left behind by the PLM forces._

 _'What the hell? They must of taken everything by now...'_

 _Once they finished searching through the crates, they found only American weapons like M72 LAWS and even M16s. The idea came to them that the PLM forces must have left behind weapons to make it seem like it was an American plane shot down._

 _"Why the hell do these guys have American built weapons? I thought the gas should be here..."_

 _After a few moments, they heard gunshots hitting the side of the aircraft, the ISD mercenaries took cover and used the cargo plane to fire back against the remaining PLM forces and rebel fighters. They keep on battling until the Russian hinds come back._

 _"Base! Do you copy, we need support here!"_

 _Static was all that could he heard until someone called something out for the others to hear._

 _"Fuck, the Hinds are back! Look out!"_

 _Just as Harper called out to the others, the Russian-built aircraft started firing at their position._

 ** _*RATATATATATATATATATAT*_**

 ** _*BANG, BANG*_**

 _"Brace yourself, Ayato!"_

 _He heard Harper call out to him over their radio._

 _Ayato flies into the planes cockpit, away from his team. He soon started to hear the creaking of the cockpit, and within a moment the cockpit falls from the ledge towards the ground. Just as it hits the ground, he hears sounds of helicopters above him._

 _Once the teen mercenary started crawling out of the wreckage of the cockpit and sees two PLM soldiers carrying an unconscious Salazar away._

 _He tries to shoot them with an M1911, but it has no ammo left, and another PLM soldier kicks it out of his hand. It was here that Ayato saw two men that he didn't realize at first until he saw one of them had an eye closed up, walking safely._

 _Ayato felt darkness creeping on him as he saw a man that he learned about in his time with people like David, "R-Raul Menedez..."_

 _"So this is the group that was sent in. I must say mercenary, that this was a failed attempt by the West to give power to people like you."_

 _Said person had someone else with him..._

 _The other man with Menedez the white hair and metallic arm throws the apple he was eating at an unconscious Harper, and just as he stomps on Ayato. They all saw a few ISD Vulture gunships came around the corner and began firing at the PLM's exposed position as they were retrieving their weapon._

 _Menedez looked at his second-in-command, "Mr. Smith, come along we do not have time before the enemy's reinforcements arrive. And please don't harm either David or Ayato too much."_

 _When Ayato tried getting up, "No, no...we can't have that..."_

 _He soon felt a sword on his face as the man identified as Mr. Smith began cutting up his face with small cuts until he reached his right eye. The blade was scraping over it until he applied a bit more pressure to it._

 _"God damn it!"_

 _There were was nothing, but searing pain as he felt his eye cut up from the simple motion the man made with his sword. As he continued holding his eye, he started fading in and out as he saw the world around go dark._

 _"I-it really...f-fucking hurts..."_

 _It took him a moment to feel as if someone was shaking him awake, he saw his friend Harper trying to keep him from fading into the dark._

 _Every time_ _he closed his good eye, he saw Harper..._

 _Until the voice became from that of an older male, it became distinctly feminine and high pitched._

 _"Wake up...wake up Ayato..."_

 **~o0o~**

 **Present Day**

 **Seidoukan Academy, Asterisk City**

Ayato felt like crap, his nightmare about what had gone on that night about two years ago.

Feeling the cold sweat from what he was remembering to his breathing becoming ragged as a result of the adrenaline he felt from reliving that day.

That night was nothing more than a living hell as the teen lost too many soldiers under his command. After they were rescued by reinforcements sent after them once they detected the PLM gunships and their troops in the area, who were supporting the rebel fighters.

Even to this day, he still could feel the pain when the man cut up his eye and was forced to have surgery to add in elements of technology that would restore his eye as to how it was before and even enhanced it.

He soon felt a hand on his cheek when he remembered that he spent the night with Julis. Feeling a weight on top of him, he soon realized that it was Julis on top of him.

Looking up, he saw the princess's eyes held a wide variety of emotions as she didn't even utter a word and kissed him.

Once she broke away, "I-I didn't know how to wake y-you up. Hearing you say those words...and...the pain you were feeling, I didn't think those nightmares of yours were that awful Ayato. H-how do you deal with it?"

"I already told you; it's because of you and Claudia. That's why."

Biting her lip, "Ayato...why? I wonder what reason do you have to go through this...it isn't fair that you've l-lead a life like this."

Living a life of a princess was something that Julis couldn't escape, it was what she was born into.

However, she truly never realized how lucky she is to live in peace, away from the conflicts that riddle the world that both her kingdom and herself live in. That was until she met someone who's seen the evil this world is capable of.

And the saddest part of it all was that he was the same age as her. One lived in peace while the other fought his way through the fires of war in order to get to where is he now. It was a learning experience for both of them to see what the other side felt like for once.

"For me, I like the feeling of being on the battlefield. It gives me a purpose, you know, it wasn't easy at first. Over time...I got better and better...with that came the feeling that being a mercenary was something I enjoyed. The battlefield, for me, has become a drug...it's impossible for me to avoid it."

He explained his own reasoning as to why this job of his felt right to him, regardless of the risk that come with it.

"Can I ask you what your nightmare was about?"

Ayato sighed as he didn't look in her direction until she moved his head to look her in the eyes.

"I'm serious, if you don't tell me what wrong then I can't help you."

Sighing, "It was about a mission that I went on about two years ago during the whole problem going down in South America. My unit was sent in and for a few months onward, it was nothing but a living hell. Then about...five, six months later...we get a mission to recover a package from a downed cargo plane."

Julis had an idea where this was going until he started explaining the carnage that had went on that mission.

Hearing about soldiers having their throat cut open, being blown by RPGs, to even being beaten...

There was no word the princess could come up with that could describe a scene of death and imagining that these were Ayato's men, it must have killed him to see this happen.

"Then we started making our way towards the crash-site when we encountered the PLM's forces for the first time and found a man that is rumored to be their leader as well as someone else that supports him. In the process, I lost an eye when the man cut it with his sword."

"W-what?"

She seemed honestly to surprise until Ayato had her look closer, and saw the small computers implanted in his eye in order to allow him to see.

Her hand had moved up to his cheek, feeling the scars and roughness behind it from the years of fighting in places where it was raining artillery shells rained down on them in Eastern Europe, to the thick jungles of South America, were in complete ruins.

While she simply lead a life of peace and training to hear such things from places thousands of miles away from her was enough to frighten her. It amazed her that someone could stare down death in these places and keep walking.

Even if his body gave up long before his own mind ever did, or never did.

"That wasn't even the worst part of it all..."

Julis tilted her head in surprise in what could be worse than...

"W-wait a minute...don't tell me that chemical weapon caused the deaths of thousands..."

Her fears were confirmed when Ayato didn't say anything and she saw the look of guilt. She suspected that he blamed himself for not stopping, what ended up killing thousands, and yet, he still thinks that problem was him. Julis heard about this tragedy a few years ago and couldn't understand how people could let this happen.

Now, she felt awful that it was her lover that was trying to prevent this.

The two continued to talk about the topic surrounding his own job, though they had talked about training this morning and Julis saw that Ayato wasn't in the mood nor did he have the strength to go an entire couple hours of training after he told her about the wound he suffered last night.

Julis and Ayato were comfortable in the position they were in and neither one felt like moving at all.

It was there that Julis had finally remembered to ask him about what had gone on last night.

"So, what did happen after me and Claudia had ended the call with you?"

Scratching his head, "You know, the usual, it started with some information being talked about then the body of the guard I killed was discovered by the Black Sea Shark's mercenaries and they tried to get me and my team then we had to hold them off and it kinda ended with us killing them."

Julis was a bit disturbed by how calm her lover was about what he had done to those men and the whole situation he explained.

"So what do you wanna do today?"

Hearing the question out of nowhere from Ayato, her face became flush with red as it caught her off-guard.

"I-I...ummm...m-maybe..."

"Haha...you really are cute when you blush."

The redness on her cheeks only got worse as his comment was heard by her. In order to hide it, she hid her face in his chest as Julis didn't want him to see her like this.

"D-don't make c-comments like t-that!."

Managing to keep her voice down enough for no one else to hear them, Ayato only smiled at the way she was acting right now.

' _I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing her like this. It's cute how she does it..._ '

He didn't really bother to think about his day ahead of him, though he knew it would involve looking over what targets within Vendrick's organization would lead them to the man himself. They would have to contact Intel about possible leads and people that could give them the info for their mission.

It was one of the long shots they had in order to find this man, and it would be their best bet.

For now, he only thought about the girl in his arms and just acted like someone should at his age with a beautiful girl in his arms; just enjoy the moment they have right now.

' _Work can wait, Julis...she can't..._ '

* * *

 **That was interesting to say the least...**

 **And if you want to know what his appearence in his dream was, well look at the picture I used for this story (minus the coat - for now).**

 **Oh yeah, that X-X-X symbol I used during the flashback will be used from now on as I can transition between scenes in flashback like the one in this chapter.**

 **Well...school is pretty much over, but sadly I have summer homework...(sighs)...and I want to get this story rolling as my others ones are in the process of being written as well. Though I must warn you, I have a little vacation with my family during fourth of July weekend coming up.**

 **So this is a warning as I will not do any writing whatsoever during that time.**

 **NBA Finals, Game 7...Hell yeah!**

 **For now, I'll see ya guys later...**


	11. Chapter 11

" _Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind._ " - John F. Kennedy

* * *

 **Downtown Berlin, Germany**

 **One week later**

 **June 13th, 2025**

Within the midst of traffic in the area of downtown Berlin, amongst the cars was a convoy comprised of three armored SUVs and above these SUVs was an armed helicopter. All of them filled with both important individuals as well as their guards for the time being.

Their destination was one that not many dared to go near in recent years, the International Security Department HQ.

"..."

"I understand your concern Mr. Floyd. Yes, we will make sure the operation in the region is successful."

Finally ending the call, it revealed a dark-skinned man in his late forties with black hair and dark grey eyes.

His name was Nate McMillan, a man that was a South African native with combat experience in conflicts that have erupted all over the continent. He was also one of the council members of the ISD. As well as being in charge of dealing with all operations involving targets set by governments such as the United States, China, and Russia.

Inside the vehicle with him was a few armed guards as well as other members of his staff that worked alongside him.

"Thomas, can you please get me a drink."

One of the staff members with him was a man named Thomas Hardaway, who was also a close friend to the man. He had poured the man a glass of scotch that was kept around for the council member to drink.

Giving Nate the drink, he thanked his old friend.

"Now, we must prepare for the arrival of a few leaders that are currently worried about the appearance a man that should have been considered long dead; Raul Menedez."

Most people in the world would have never heard about the man, except for the higher members of the United States government as they authorized an assination attempt on the man's life almost forty years ago. The strike was thought to have been successful until he later appeared decades later...

Now, the man is more powerful than ever before.

"Mr. McMillan, may I inquire about this man? Who is Raul Menedez exactly?"

One of the leaders with them was the prime minister of England; David Cameron. He was looking through some files that were going to be talked about at the meeting, and the man he asked about was the main point of it.

The council member simply finished the glass of alcohol before answering the man's question.

"Well, Mr. Cameron. Raul Menedez is a very dangerous man and even long before what reports and rumors have been spreading about this. It started back in the eighties when he was a simple drug dealer as well as a gun runner. Then the United States came along and saw the potential danger of leaving this man alive, so they approved of an assassination attempt on the man's life by a few special operators and I know the men who did this very well."

Confusion was seen on the minister's face, "So why is someone that is considered dead by the United States...still a possible threat to other nations."

Nate only chuckled at his response, "That would be the question that many people in today's meeting would like to know as well. How is it possible that man considered dead by a superpower, with all it's resources, still alive? Mr. Cameron, a good question indeed."

Deciding to see ask how his family after not seeing the man in almost four years, "How's the wife and kids Mr. Cameron?"

The prime minister responded, "There are doing well back home, thank you for asking Mr. McMillan."

Everyone remained silent for the rest of trip until they could see a large dome shaped building near the center of Berlin that was the headquarters to one of the most powerful military organizations on the planet.

Most people would be amazed to see the massive amount of security they were providing for this. Armored vehicles like MRAP were near security check points to even APCs like the Warrior as extra muscle for the ground troops.

All around the entrance of the building were press reporters and news outlets all wanting a story as to what exactly is being discussed here.

However, the guards for all the VIPs made sure they didn't get close to them.

Walking up the steps heading towards the massive building, they could see the rest of the important members of the council as well as some world leaders also being dropped off with a few armed helicopters were providing aerial security above them.

The British prime minister was walking behind Nate McMillan, "Do not worry Mr. Cameron. Those Kiowas will get the job done as they are some of the better aircraft we have for events like these as well as the possibility of an attack."

Looking around, he could also see snipers on the other buildings surrounding the HQ.

"Your organization must be used to things like this with how heavy security is for something like this."

They entered the building, "Quite so, this is rather one of the few events where some of the world leaders like this U.S president and even this Russian president will be in the same room for what I believe is the fourth time since their own respected elections."

In front of them was a check point with every single person being checked by the guards of the building, who all had a 'M.P' on their sleeve.

Once Nate and David Cameron were both checked, their group continued onwards to the room that would be used for the meeting between the world leaders of the major military powers on the planet.

Just as they reached the elevator, they saw someone that Nate was glad to see.

"Commander Briggs, how have you been my good friend?"

Tommy Briggs was one of the more prominent military commanders within the ISD and one of the few people that Nate could entrust with important task that even some of the council members wouldn't be able to to do for him. The man rose through the ranks of the United States military before retiring and after a few years, he later joined the ISD in order to continue fighting threats like the one that would be discussed today.

He is also the overall commander of the ISD's special operations command, and is friends with both David Mason as well as Ayato Amagari.

As elevator started heading up towards the right floor, Briggs whispered something into Nate's ear.

"Sir, Metal 0-1 needs information on a possible target that could lead us to confirming Raul Menedez's status."

Nodding, "Alright, Briggs I need you to make sure after this meeting is over, to get Intel to find any possible names that could have had contact with Vendricks. Do it quickly because we have no idea as to where this man is himself."

"Yes sir."

Just as the elevator opened, it revealed a group of men and women that were here for the meeting. Nate could see that the mercenaries were all getting everyone inside the room where the meeting would take place.

He walked over to the British prime minister, "Mr. Cameron, if you would be so kind as to follow the others into this room and wait a few minutes as we're still getting everything together. As well as some business I need to take care of at the moment."

"Alright Mr. McMillan, this meeting better not be a waste of time."

"It won't be, I can you promise you that much."

Leaving the side of the building that in which the politicians were at the moment, Nate walked down a few hallways until he entered a room that not many outside the council nor military leaders were allowed inside. It was the central command area.

Inside the large room it was a space that was occupied by computers, radar, communication systems. This was just a few of things that were inside as he walked over to one of the men operating the communication systems.

"Operator, get into contact with one of the sniper teams covering the rooftops outside."

The soldier nodded as he began to call for one of the men outside to pick up.

" _Command, this is Ghost 2-2. What do you need?_ "

Nate asked the soldier the question he needed to ask, "How's everything looking from your point of view at the moment."

A pause happened before the soldier spoke up, " _Hmmm...by the look of things, I think the meeting should be fine and with the amount of security we have around the HQ, plus it would be way too damn difficult for just about anyone to get through the press reporters and news outlets hungry for any news._ "

Sighing in relief, "Thank you soldier. Just keep an eye on things outside and report back here in case something's wrong."

" _Yes sir._ "

The council member wasn't one to be paranoid, though he knew the chance of killing the president of China, the U.S, and Russia would be an opportunity of a lifetime. Even with the extra security around this part of the city.

Looking down at the operator, "Keep an eye on the radio waves and for any suspicious messages that you can pick up."

The soldier nodded at the council member's request and focused back onto his job. Just as Nate was about to leave, the door to the room opened. It revealed another member of the council, a woman by the name of Eva Kaili.

"Ah Ms. Kaili, I see you are doing well."

Eva Kaili was one of the few members of the ISD that was opposed to the idea of turning it into a fully fuctional military organization instead of actually just policing the mercenary units that operated under their watch. She was once a member of the European Parliament until she joined the council in order to bring a way to bridge the military leaders of the ISD and the politicians that speak with them once every so often.

"I am doing well Mr. McMillan. The meeting is going to start in a few minutes so I do believe that it is in our best interest to join it."

She never had a problem with Nate, though her one concern with the man was that he was a bit extreme at times. Though he was an experienced combat soldier, she couldn't blame the man for behaving the way he did.

"Ms. Kaili...may I ask you a question?"

"Yes, you may. Why?"

Shaking his head, "Call it the gut feeling of a soldier. Do you feel...anything might happen at this meeting?"

Wondering where this thought came from, "No, I don't feel anything might happen here with all the security we placed and if something were to happen, then we have more than enough forces to fight them back."

It didn't help the man as the two started walking back towards the other side of the massive building.

Looking through the window, the two could see mercenary units guarding the rooftop as well as the armed helicopters patrolling the area around the building. The military force that the ISD wields was one of the strongest in the world.

Many would try to get them to limit their forces to a certain number, though the more powerful nations had denied this request as they handled problems that needed to be taken care off and were to be paid for it.

A simple system of making a profit through various operations given to them by either people or countries and buying their weapons, ammo, and supplies from these very same countries they had helped.

Once they saw the pair of heavy oak doors, they knew that politicians from major countries like the United States and Russia were waiting for them.

Looking over to his fellow council member with the feeling of walking into a lion's cage with the people inside. Both of them knew what the world was facing is the ever growing threat of the PLM, with it's leader being shrouded in mystery.

Though with rumors of Raul Menedez being the leader of this group by the name of Odysseus.

When they opened the door, it revealed a large room with a wooden table that seated over twenty politicians included the presidents of the United States, Russia, as well as China were all near the front of group. He walked over to the podium that was set up for him to face the world leaders while the others sat next to him.

As the council member faced the group with the intention of getting more resources and support to do everything to destroy the PLM.

"Mr. McMillan, I feel like this meeting better be important if you called the world leaders of some of these countries."

Kenneth Phoenix spoken up, he was the president of the United States. A man that was known for both his plans that had brought the U.S economy from falling off the face of the world, but his harsh views on how to deal with terrorist groups like those of the PLM.

He was a man that always kept the interest of the American people in hand, regardless of what needed to be done. While many critics would disagree with his attempts to have America isolated once again, it has kept soldiers safe from harms way and his idea to create the International Security Department in order to combat threats the United States would combat. With the new energy technology developed, this way it meant that people could be safe while having no soldiers die.

Though some had disagreed with this idea to have mercenaries being the first-respond units to major threats, such as the president of Russia; Vladimir Putin.

In recent years, the man was scrutinized for his control over the Crimean peninsula being annexed into Russia. Many nations like those of NATO had economic sanctions in place against the Russian Federation.

While he may have caused controversy with this move to claim the area, he has rebuilt the Russian military from it's transition from the Cold War-based technology to making it a real threat to forces thousands of miles away from it's borders. The strength of the improved Russian armed forces has increased in recent years with improvements in what capability it's own forces were capable of.

Returning it to be a superpower once again after almost thirties years since the collapse of the Soviet Union during the final days of the Cold War with the United States.

As Nate started walking up to the front of the room, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know that you would all rather be in your own borders at this moment. However, there has been a major problem that our organization has faced in recent years, and it involves the group called the Project Liberty Militia."

Some of the leaders looked unsurprising by this news, as some received news about the engagements between the two.

It was here that the president of China; Xi Jinping, a man famous for his reformation of the Chinese military. This included the People's Liberation Army being merged with the People's Republic of China's army. While many within the Communist political party had been very upset with this move, it ended up stabilizing the military and allowing them to protect their interest against threats abroad.

The Chinese president has asked something that many were wondering in the room, "Mr. McMillan, the threat of the terrorist group called the Project Liberty Militia. This enemy's threat level has been noticed in recent years, especially after this organization's failure to prevent the incident that happened in South America over a few years ago."

Many remembered the incident with the chemical weapon called Nova 6 was used to kill thousands of people.

Nate remembered reading the reports after what had happened. The first thing he thought of was the person that was given command of the unit sent in to recover the weapon. He soon realized that the young mercenary by the name of Ayato realized that this failure costed the lives of people that had nothing to do with this.

Anger, guilt was just a few of the emotions he was told the soldier felt afterwards. Especially when he was told of the hatred the young man had for Menedez, who was currently suspected as being the leader of the PLM, even if he was considered dead by the United States. However, they all knew this man must be alive if he was spotted in South America.

The council never wanted him to feel like this failure of this entire operation was entirely on his head, however it helped shape him into the man he was today with level of brutality he used in order to obtain the nickname 'Crimson Ghost'.

It was here that they received the first real reports that Raul Menedez was said to still be alive after almost four decades.

"Yes, I can agree that our operation at the time was...considered a failure as we lost a large amount of men and costed the lives of civilians being killed by the gas. While the failure of the mission rested on the commander of the mission itself."

"That is something I would like to ask about?"

Nate looked over to his left to see Kenneth speaking up.

"What is it Mr. Phoenix?"

Said person was taking out a file from his pile of papers he brought with him. The council member realized that he might speak about a soldier that has become infamous in recent years for the brutality and kill count he has.

"If you do not mind, it revolves around one of your...more famous operator that goes by the nickname...'Crimson Ghost'."

This name was well known to all those inside this room, and for good reason. Whenever they received reports about an operation that involved this man, it always turned into a bloodbath with most enemy soldiers dying at the hands of this person.

But, it was also the high rate of success the person had that made him so successful as the jobs he was given, regardless of what it is, was completed.

"Yes, I know the operator personally. What is it that you would like to ask about him?"

The president sat back in seat as began speaking, "I'm wondering as to why isn't he leading this charge against the PLM if this man has seen the person that was considered dead by our own special operations unit back almost four decades ago."

"Well, we have been getting reports from various intelligence agencies, including the Intergerated Enterprise Foundation, that there is a possibility of an attack on Asterisk City. After confirming with our own sources from the Middle East, that an attack was happening as messages between PLM forces in the region were communicating with some higher ups in another part of their global network."

Intergerated Enterprise Foundation was a sore topic for some of the nations present here. This organization is a combination of multiple companies that banded together after the Invertia. Originally comprised of eight companies, it is currently made up of Ginga, EP, Jie Long, Frauenlob, Solnage, and W&W.

These companies were all either arms businesses or major corporations that saw an opportunity to model the world's economy to benefit their needs.

The Integrated Enterprise Foundation is an economic entity that was created after the Invertia to help support the world economy after the terr. They hold much more power than the various countries. The Integrated Enterprise Organization grants the wish or wishes of those that win the Festa.

As they are businesses, they will take measures to get rid of things or projects that don't produce results, such as slowly changing the public opinion on certain things.

This creates economic disparity, such as the case in many countries in South America, Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

To prevent failures due to human factors, and to make sure the executives all share the Integrated Enterprise Foundation's philosophy, they have all executives undergo mental readjustment programs. Because of this, those with strong desires have a hard time of becoming an executive, though the program has different levels based on department or position.

Every couple of years, the Integrated Enterprise Foundation sends representatives of each company to a summit meeting known as the Concordia in the month of December to discuss long term interest adjustments for the year.

"So we sent him, and his team to uncover this attack and prevent it from happening."

Vladimir Putin asked the council member, "Mr. McMillan, I'm more concerned about the threat of the PLM's leader and if your best men will be able to track him down. With the reports that a criminal by the name of Vendrick has had reported contact with the leader of the PLM before and this is why your best men are currently in Asterisk City, in order to track down someone who must know. Am I right?"

"Yes, that would be about right sir."

The conversation had soon turned towards the progress the ISD has made in it's operations on numerous areas such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and some areas in Asia. As these were the new sources of conflict for the world to make a profit off of.

But not only that, small scale conflicts have erupted all over the world. Eastern Europe was on the verge of collapse from all the infighting, South East Asia was now pirate domain, and the Middle East was still, if not, even more chaotic. The most notable conflict was the war with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan against Iran.

All the ISD could do in that kind of situation was provide relief for refugees who have lost their homes and combat what they could do with their resources.

Behind Nate appeared a large screen with a map of the Middle East.

"On the screen would be the region of Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Our operations in Syria have been successful with the local insurgents in the country being put down, however the recent supplies and addition of PLM ground forces have been setting us back recently."

The map zoomed in on a region in the central part of Syria, "There has been significant resistance along the river Euphrates, with an enemy stronghold at a village called Dayr az Zawr. We've thought about using our air power to smoke the town. However, there is a civilian population has caused numerous set backs for us. As for the rest of country, it has been, for the most part, cleaned up."

"What about the other Middle Eastern countries like Afghanistan? Iraq?"

President Xi Jinping asked, and Nate responded to his question.

"Well Mr. Jinping, those regions are stabilized. But, we do get the occasional skirmishes with the pocket of Taliban forces remaining in the area. Besides that, the others have been progressing well, except for Iraq with insurgent forces still going strong. Cities like Fallujah have been a living nightmare for our troops to clear out without leveling an entire area with either an airstrike or artillery shells."

Nothing could be used to describe the nightmare that most mercenaries experienced in Iraq. Hidden devices like IEDs being placed everywhere they could in order to inflict as much damage as possible to the ISD and an endless number of insurgents continuing to swell their ranks.

It was here that Kenneth chimed in, "What about Eastern Europe as the reports we've gotten suggested the fighting up there has only gotten worse once large concentrations of PLM forces were spotted and not only that, there was a recent battle on the Latvian/Estonian border where there was a sighting of large amounts of enemy armored forces."

Changing the map from the chaotic region of the Middle East to the conflict riddled area called Eastern Europe.

"Yes, those reports are true about the enemy having armored units at their disposal. Who, we found out, were PLM forces. The enemy has only gotten stronger as they've obtained heavy weapons and aircraft to fight toe-to-toe with us. One of the few advantages we have over them has been the air superiority with fighter jets like the F-22 and heavily improved Sukhoi Su-35 from both the United States as well as the Russian Federation."

Nate soon started explaining the situation to them, "All I can say is that the region has gone to complete shit - for the lack of a better term and excuse the language - the amount of rebel fighters has increased each day and they're backed with modern arms like tanks and even some helicopters like the MI-8 has been spotted. We've sent in additional units like the 166th battalion and 212th airborne division to deal with the ever-growing threat in the area."

Behind him was the map that represented the recent changes in the front-line between the rebel fighters and the mercenary units sent in to deal with them. Video files were shown of the recent skirmishes as battle tanks in Lithuania of their own forces like the British-built Challenger 2 engaging the rebel's own tanks forces like the T-72 units leftover in the Lithuanian army when the rest of Eastern Europe fell a part.

"This was the first of many battles as the PLM were found to have been supplying them all the needed resources in order to hold us off. A major battle occurred in the district of Klaipeda, the site was a city by the name of Butinge near the Latvian border. One of the more brutal battles we've fought in the entire Eastern European region."

It soon flashed images of a city completely consumed by the fires of war as it showed tanks, troops clash for control of the city. There were attack helicopters like Apache Longbows and Russian built MI-28s that were a part of the ISD's helicopter corp.

The majority of the vehicles, weapons, and other military equipment had directly come from either the United States or the Russian Federation factory lines. With the majority of it's mercenary troops being of different nationalities, and it proved that it didn't matter where they came from; rich or poor, former soldier or not.

"Mr. McMillan, the battles seemed to be - for the most part - what was expected with the trouble the PLM have been causing as of late. We also expect results from your best team of operators as they begin tracking down those that are associated with the PLM's leader."

Speaking up for once, Nate asked the leaders for something he needed in order to maximize their success of capturing the leader of this terrorist group.

"There is something I would like to ask of you?"

It was here that all the politicians listened to what the council member had to ask of them.

"What is it?"

Kenneth was the first to respond to his question.

"The one factor that we've struggled with is the intelligence part of this. We haven't been able to give our operators the best intelligence they could possibly use and it's costed us the lives of soldiers when they could have been avoided."

Realizing that the man was speaking about the incident that occurred a few years ago in South America.

"So what your organization needs is simply information we can pick up about enemy forces like the PLM and relay them to your intelligence unit."

The Russian president was blunt in what Nate wanted to say.

Soon there was conversations amongst the group of world leaders, prime ministers, and others that were asked to come here today for this meeting with the council member to discuss recent events like this.

"Yes, Mr. Putin that would be the blunt way to put it."

A few minutes had went by as they spoke among themselves with some of them wanting to provide the ISD with what they require while some argued that they had more than enough resources to complete the needed missions and operations they were told to do.

It wasn't until the presidents of the two superpowers talked it over and both were willing to help with this as the two countries didn't need to sacrifice the lives of soldiers when the majority of the population didn't want to get involved with any conflicts.

With the existence of the ISD as a peacekeeping force to replace NATO. However, using force to end conflicts as quickly as possible instead of waiting for the support of American forces.

This allowed for the United States and Russian Federation to supply funds and equipment into an organization that didn't have soldiers sent in from either one, they were merely mercenaries who joined the ISD's ranks.

Kenneth was the first to speak up, "Alright Mr. McMillan. We'll agree to send you information that may be vital to your efforts towards capturing and destroying the PLM as well as bringing whoever their leader Odysseus to his knees."

It was here that the screen behind them began to change as the map of the Eastern side of the world changed to a black screen.

Nate looked over to his left, seeing if the other council members had done this. But, they looked just as confused about what was happening and began contacting the security forces outside the building in order to make sure there wasn't anybody suspicious hanging around.

The black screen soon started changing and it revealed a symbol the world had become familiar with, the 'C' symbol the represented the PLM and more specifically it represented their leader named Odysseus. A few moments later, a modified voice soon could be heard in the room.

" _Here in one room, is the leaders of the Western world._ "

From a black screen, it showed an image of a small group of people through different camera all angles, all trapped within a room full of PLM terrorist.

" _At this moment, I have a group of people somewhere on the European continent...along with trucks all over Europe, waiting for the attack to begin. With it set to expire within the next twenty hours or so, and the potent chemical weapon; Nova 6 that was released on South American cities years ago, will be used once again._ "

It was here that the British prime minister stood up in shock, "W-wait a second! That's my wife and kids!"

Looking closer, Nate and the few that knew the prime minister's family were in shock to see them in the hands of the terrorist.

" _Haha...I see that Mr. Cameron has realized his family is trapped somewhere in Europe. However, that isn't the only threat to deal with as most of Western Europe itself is at risk from an attack of unbelievable proportions._ "

The U.S president was the first to speak up, "What the hell do you want Mr. Odysseus? How is keeping someone's family hostage going to change that?"

Hearing the man's response shocked most within the room, " _It's not going to change anything Mr. Phoenix, you of all people should know why I despise the West. Your own country had killed my father in cold blood, then...your special forces units **KILLED** my sister almost forty years ago!_ "

Once again the screen changed to show a timer.

" _There's an old saying I grew up with; God helps him who rises early. Better hurry before Europe is nothing more than a pile of glass..._ "

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 10: Fires of War**

 **Same Day**

 **Seidoukon Academy, Asterisk City**

Ayato didn't feel the pain from the bullet wound anymore and with the task of having to stay awake in a class for a whole day becoming harder and harder each day. Being a student was...more difficult than he remembered it to be.

Though his own mind was caught up on what they needed to do in order to find the location of Vendrick.

' _I hope Intel will get back to us soon about some possible leads to start from..._ '

His mind was hoping to hear the bell that would signal the end of the day for him. Sighing, he knew it wasn't going to change anything and continued listening to the teacher the class had while he waited for another day of school to end.

After nearly a few hours, the final bell for the day rung and most students started packing their things for the day and either heading for clubs or going back to their dorm rooms. That's either to finish homework they have or study for a test.

But...

Ayato's day was probably going to involve another long day of probing the numerous criminal organizations of Asterisk City for information on possible leads to the possible location of Vendrick may be.

"I sometimes hate my days..."

He laid his head on his desk until the teen mercenary felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw that is was Saya standing over him. The mercenary hasn't had much time to talk with his childhood friend since they found out they were in the same class.

But, with what's been going on in his personal life, that's been difficult to do.

"What you need Saya?"

She seemed to be a bit nervous as her cheeks were flushed with red, "Ayato...could I talk with you about something."

Though her monotone voice made it seem like she didn't even feel nervous, as Ayato stood up from his desk and followed Saya out of the classroom. Julis, who didn't say anything up until now, had noticed this until she saw him give her a look.

' _Don't worry about anything._ '

Julis trusted Ayato, and if he told her that everything was going to be fine, then she would believe him.

Once the two teens were walking through the empty hallways as most students had already cleared them. The sun began to set as Ayato's own thoughts were trying to figure out Saya needed to talk to him about...

Though he had an idea as to what it was.

' _Don't tell me...that she actually might confess her feelings for me..._ '

He still hadn't told anyone, outside his own team using the guys at Intel, that he was in that strange relationship with both Julis and Claudia. Both girls mattered to him, and with how frequently he's being called up to deal with jobs being assigned to them.

It made it even more difficult to make time for anything besides school, both girls.

"Ayato, can I ask you something?"

The teen mercenary merely nodded at her question, as his mind was trying different reponses as to what he could say to her.

"Yeah, what is it?"

Saya didn't ask right away and took a few moments to gather her words. This question was one that she's been keeping to herself for the past few years after her family had moved away due to the constant amount of jobs that Saya's father went through.

"U-Umm...Ayato...I always wanted t-to tell you that...ever since we were k-kids...that I l-liked you..."

However, she expected a response from Ayato and he remained quiet.

"Crap...uh, Saya...I never got the chance to tell you this. Wow, I didn't expect this to be this hard..."

Wondering what he was trying to say, she walked a bit closer to him until he stepped back from her, "Saya...I can't ever...see you in that type of way. Nor do I hold any feelings for you like that, but I still care about you."

Silence followed his response.

It was here that Ayato heard sounds of soft sniffling from the blue haired girl in front of him.

"W-why...?"

Ayato heard what Saya said to him and crouched down so he could be eye level with the blue haired girl, "Saya...I know we've been friends since we were kids and I can tell you this much Saya...a lot can happen in the years we haven't seen each other and there are things I've experienced before."

"What do you mean?"

Her mind was clouded with the pain from being rejected, Saya didn't show the emotional pain she felt from the words that left Ayato's mouth.

"...Saya, are you okay?"

Quickly shaking her head, her hair blocked the mercenary from seeing her eyes. Though he saw the tears starting to fall, and he felt horrible that he needed to do this...but it was necessary as he didn't want to lead her on while he was really off.

Just a few short moments later, the girl started walking away until she started sprinting.

As he reached to grab her hand, his communicator went off and when he saw it was David contacting him. He knew it had something to do with his job, but he simply couldn't leave Saya alone after what had happened until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning around, he saw it was Julis.

Leaning closer to his ear, "Go, I'll go talk to Saya and try to explain to her the reasoning behind it."

"R-really? Why would you do that for me?"

Julis didn't say much as she walked past him and said one set of words that took quite a load off his back and mind in recent weeks.

"Because...I know work is going to be more stressful and I know Saya is your childhood friend, so I thought helping you with Saya would make you happy. That's why I'm doing this for you, and Saya as well."

The mercenary leaned down and kissed the princess on the cheek.

"Thank you Julis, that means the world to me."

Said girl had become flushed with red before pushing him in the opposite direction, "D-don't you have a c-call to answer..."

After the two left to deal with their respected jobs at the moment. Ayato started making his way out of the Academy and began traveling to the city in order to meet up with his teammates as he answered the call from David.

"What it is?"

There was a moment of static until his voice came through.

"There's been some problems that have arisen within the last few hours or so. The meeting in Berlin, it's been completely changed as the man who claims to be Odysseus, or who we suspect to be Raul Menedez interrupted the meeting and has the rest of Europe by the balls at the moment."

Once Ayato heard what Harper said, he started making his way into the city to meet up with his team.

After the raven haired mercenary quickly made his way through the endless amount of concrete jungle to the abandoned building that his team was using as a base of operations for their job in the city.

Seeing the door open, he started making his way down the steps until he found the floor his team was on.

All of them near a screen of some sort.

It was here that the team of mercenaries began to listen in on the news prospective of this meeting and what information had been leaked already by those inside the building at the moment. Soon a news reporter appeared on the screen.

" _ **And onto other news, the conference at the International Security Department's HQ here in Berlin has been underway for the past four and a half hours. There has been a lot of speculations about the contents of such a meeting, given the great number of both ISD council members and world leaders that are participating in this.**_ "

The news anchor said while a screen showing an aerial view of the massive dome shaped building was displayed at her side.

" _ **What can be confirmed is the apparent sighting of both U.S and Russian president had entered the building. This suggests that their involvement may be about the recent attacks by the terrorist group called the Project Liberty Militia may be related to this conference.**_ "

" _ **There is also the rumors relating to these attacks may include the same man that has captured the hearts of billions across the globe, a man that goes by the name of Odysseus on social media platforms.**_ "

It was here that the reporter seemed to have gotten news from somewhere with the expression on her face showing both confusion and shock.

" ** _Ladies and gentlemen, we have gotten word from our sources that the British Prime minister's family was kidnapped and is currently being held by a terrorist group of unknown origins. However, there seems to be more information about an impending attack on Europe. Though this information hasn't been confirmed yet._** "

Most of them knew what kind of paranoia it would cause for people of Europe, knowing that an attack may or may not happen.

"Hey Ayato, don't you have a friend in the SAS?"

Salazar asked said person. With Ayato only looking at the monitor in front of them and knew the SAS would be the one's on this case to find the British prime minister's family and stop whatever it was that Mendez was planning.

The entire mercenary group wasn't surprised by what they suspected the group behind the kidnapping wanted, but for this terrorist group to act this bold with a country that has one of the best special forces units in the world...

The SAS, or Special Air Services.

One of the most feared military units since it's creation decades ago...

Who went by the motto; ' _Who Dares, Wins_ '

 **~o0o~**

 **Location Unknown**

 **Two hours later**

It was around midnight at the Corsica station in France as the men inside the command room were monitoring the radio-waves for any suspicious messages being sent across their airwaves. Though after what had happened at the Berlin meeting meant they were on high alert for any information regarding both the attack on Europe itself as well as the location of the family of the British prime minister.

Soon one of the French soldiers picked up on an encrypted message that was intended for someone in England.

"Sir, I just picked up a message heading for British soil."

The commanding officer of the station soon asked him to decrypt the message and to show him what it could possibly be about. It was here that the commanding officer had contacted the higher military leaders of the French armed forcesa.

"This is the Corsica station, we just intercepted an encrypted message from an unknown target."

A few moments later, the encryption was broken and the message began being played for the men in the station. Within a few moments of hearing it, they knew something was coming, and it needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

' _It's done. The package is enroute to London._ '

"This is Corsica station, notify British Intelligence that we have a problem and it's heading right for them."

Once they sent this out to their commanders, the French wasted no time in contacting the British intelligence agency of what the message carried and it was here that British soon started picking something up on their satellites.

The satellite tracks a suspect cargo from an unknown supplier on its way to London. Within minutes, MI6 personnel at the headquarters, Vauxhall Cross, are notified of the matter.

An MI6 Officer brought the news to the higher officials of the headquarters, "Sir, the French just intercepted an encrypted message concerning a suspicious shipment headed for British soil just a few hours before the meeting in Berlin is to be held."

The SIS Chief asked the officer about the shipment, "Have we identified the vessel?"

However MI6 Officer shook his head in response to his question.

"No sir, the message couldn't be traced back to the receiver of it. With the shipment also having an unknown supplier from overseas made it impossible for us to track them down."

Within moments the SIS Chief started getting on the phone in order to contact the nearest intelligence agency, "Wake up MI5 and notify them that we have an imminent threat."

Once they contacted the Director of MI5, Domestic Intelligence, was being driven as she is on the phone with the MI6 Officer, who is in the MI5 Headquarters, Thames House.

She soon asked them what information they have at the moment about the situation, "Gentlemen, what do we know?"

"Nothing solid. Special Branch is sweeping up known persons of interest, but we advise tasking SAS to investigate Tier One threats."

The leading officer at MI5 soon told her about what possible individuals may be connected to this suspicious terrorist attack. Inside the vehicle was a screen with a list of cargo ships in port at the moment and knew the SAS was needed this time.

"Patch me through to Hereford."

MI5 Director connects with the Director of Special Forces at the SAS Headquarters in Hereford.

"Ma'am, I understand we have unknown hostiles expecting a package."

MI5 Director started giving them the necessary information that the special forces unit would require for the mission at hand, "MI5 has identified several possible points of entry. Be advised, the nature of the cargo is currently unknown."

The satellite locates London, allowing them to see where the suspicious cargo ship is being docked and all of them seeing it was at the Canary Wharf.

With the satellite also picking up on the heavy movement in the area surrounding the cargo ship.

"Roger, my team is making ready. We'll be on plot within the hour. Don't worry ma'am. Whatever they're up to, we'll put a stop to it."

That was the last thing the Director of Special Forces said before getting his troops prepped for their new mission.

 **~o0o~**

 **["Mind the Gap"]**

 **[June 13th, 2025 - 4:11:35]**

 **[Sgt. Marcus Burns]**

 **[22nd SAS Regiment]**

 **[Canary Wharf, London]**

Above the target area of was a UAV sent in by the British SAS in order to see what exactly was the threat level of the enemy at the docks in Canary Wharf. Soon the headquarters of the special forces unit saw a forklift loading a crate onto one of the trucks at the dock.

The radio came to life as the commander, a man by the name of Wollcraft, of the mission could be heard, "Baseplate, we're online. Mint on view."

With the headquarters being called 'Baseplate' had responded, "Roger that, Bravo Six. There are multiple trucks in the docks that are marked 'Charity Worldwide'. At this time we believe they are targets from what the intelligence we were given."

"That's a dodgy way of doing charity work."

Wollcraft responded with some humor in his voice.

A few moments passed as the UAV saw that the trucks were beginning to move out from the area, "Bravo Six, the trucks are leaving the docks now."

The trucks are seen leaving the docks. While they soon saw one remained parked as the others left.

"Our source say what they were transporting?" Asked Wollcraft, wondering what could these trucks be carrying to have units like the SAS to have to track them down.

"Intel on this op shows the shipment came from High Value Targets overseas. Be advised, one of the trucks is still at the docks."

"Why not get a Spectre in here and sink the whole bloody thing in the river?" Wollcraft replied to the limited information he was being given by 'Baseplate' as his men were about to begin their operation.

Baseplate gave him an answer, "Too high profile, Bravo six. Vulture's birds will provide air cover for now."

"Let's just get this thing done and dusted." Wollcraft said, rather irritated having to do this mission with the lack of information available for his men.

Once the UAV detected several hostiles in the warehouses in front of the docks. The commanding officer of 'Baseplate' relayed them the information they had just gotten from the drone above the area.

"FLIR is picking up heat signatures in the warehouses. You will need to clear those buildings before securing the truck."

"My team will take Warehouse One, Bravo nine will handle the other." Wollcraft said, already having his men split up to take care of the warehouses in front of them.

The UAV camera shifts view to Sgt. Wallcroft's SAS team behind the warehouses start to gather up in order to start their operation. Then Wollcraft is soon heard over the radio for the last time before they commence the mission.

"Baseplate, our window is closing fast. We're ready to kick this off."

"Copy that. All teams, you've got the nod. Mission is a go."

On the ground, Sgt. Marcus Burns and the rest of Bravo six readied their weapons as they were given the go-ahead for the task at hand.

Wollcraft spoke over the radio, and Marcus felt a bit annoyed with what he's probably going to say.

"Alright mates, let's do this. We all know Sgt. Burns over here wants to get to his girl in one piece before this night of his is over."

In response, Marcus merely shook his head with a small smile on his face as they began moving down the alleyway towards the target building they needed to clear out before going after the empty truck at the docks.

Though his teammates knew who the girl was, and were all amazed in their own way in terms of who it was. However, he shook those unnecessary thoughts as he needed to focus on the mission at hand as Wollcraft gave out the orders.

"Cpl. Griffin, and Burns go through the alley while Bravo nine's team goes around to the other warehouse."

As they approached the building, Wollcraft spoke up.

"That's the warehouse in front of us. Burns, we'll sweep, you clean. Weapons free."

A Russian talking on his cell phone walks out of the warehouse. Marcus looked over to Wollcraft, who nods, and the young SAS operator aims his MP5 and fires at the man. Effectively killing him with blood staining the door.

"Alley clear, move." Said Wollcraft.

They move up to the warehouse and see two men sleeping inside.

One of the other SAS operators by the name of Griffin speaks up, "Got two more inside the building."

"Make sure they don't wake up." The older soldier said with no emotions whatsoever.

Both Marcus and Griffin enter the building. The younger operator takes out his combat knife and quickly stabs the sleeping terrorist in the neck, effectively killing him, as he looked over to see that Griffin had done the same as well.

"Bravo nine, you got two behind the door."

The older SAS operator warned the other team about to breach through the door.

Leader of Bravo nine could be heard over the radio, "Copy that Wollcraft."

Marcus quickly glanced over and saw Bravo nine enter the other warehouse and kill two terrorist waiting inside as the storm around them continued to mask the noise they were creating and made sure they weren't detected.

Griffin soon warned the others of who were approaching down the alleyway, "Two targets down the alley. Ten meters."

Wallcroft gave the order, "Take 'em down."

They turn into the alley and Wollcraft as well as Marcus take out the two guards coming towards them.

Griffin said over the radio. "Alleyway clear."

They move up to the door. Griffin takes out a pair of lock cutters as they stack up on the door.

Wallcroft called out on his radio, "On me."

Griffin and Marcus responded to him. "Ready."

Wallcroft ordered Griffin to cut it.

"Alright. Cut it."

Griffin cuts the locks and Wallcroft as well as Marcus enters the room.

Wallcroft gives the all clear, "Room clear. Up the stairs."

They move up the stairs and into the warehouse.

Griffin warned the others, "Got movement up ahead."

An enemy comes around the corner. Wallcroft grabs the enemy, knees him, and shoots him before they could figure what was going at the moment. Wallcroft looks over to Marcus.

"Burns, take point."

Burns nodded and moves forward through the hall. Voices are heard ahead of the team.

Wallcroft tells them to pause, "Sounds like more around the corner."

They go around the corner and eliminate the two guards.

Griffin speaks up as they kill the other guards, "Mornin', gents. Room clear."

Wallcroft tells them to move, "Alright boys, let's move up."

They go up the stairs.

Sierra one contacted the SAS team inside the warehouse, _"Bravo six, this is Sierra one, two hostiles on top floor of your building. Taking the shot. Send 'em."_

At the top floor, two hostiles are sniped by Sierra one.

Sierra one confirms the area is clear, " _Outer perimeter is secure._ "

Wallcroft gave the order to attack, "Greenlight on all teams. Go! Through the glass!"

They smash through the windows and slide down the metal sheet. A truck with more SAS operators drive in, but is destroyed by an RPG fired at them. The SAS teams engage hostiles at the docks. As the Little Bird gunship code-name 'Vulture 2-2' shines its search light to help the teams below locate hostiles.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAATAT***

 ***BOOOMMM***

As they returned fire against the terrorist in the docks, after a few minutes of engaging the enemy forces, and docks were cleared of them.

One of the surviving members of the attack gave them the all clear sign, "Bravo six, Sierra one. You're all clear."

Wallcroft immediately check it out with his teammates that survived the initial attack.

"All clear?!"

Griffin answered him, "Clear!"

As did another SAS operator by the name of Meyers. "Clear, boss!"

Wallcroft walked up to the truck doors along with Marcus. "Alright, set up a perimeter!"

Vulture 2-2 shines its light on the truck as it was providing security for the teams that were currently surrounding the truck.

Looking over to Marcus, Wollcraft gave him the order to open it, "Burns, open the doors."

Burns opens the truck's doors, but the SAS operators were shocked to see that the truck was empty of anything. Then Wollcraft slammed his arm against the side of the truck as he contacted 'Baseplate' concerning the location of the other trucks that left the docks before they commenced their attack.

"Baseplate, the lorry is empty. What's the status on the rest of them?" He asked.

Meyers looked in it for himself, "There's nothing in them."

Soon they heard 'Baseplate' over their radios, but they heard static as they began talking. " _Bravo six, be advised, y..._ "

Comms begin to become scrambled as a large group of hostiles fire on the teams in the parking lot area. An RPG flies past them and hits a car, which blows up and kills two SAS operators from the shrapnel from the car.

Meyers yelled out, "Contact! We got contact on our front."

Wallcroft started ordering the remaining operators to engage the terrorist, "Move! Move! Tangos on the catwalk! Vulture 2, sort them out!"

Vulture 2-2 soon approached the front of the building where the terrorist were hiding, " _Roger that. Inbound and hot._ "

The team engages the terrorist and Vulture 2-2 fires its guns at the hostiles on the catwalk. As the team nears the warehouse, an RPG is fired at Vulture 2-2, which it narrowly misses. Causing the helicopter to back away from the area.

" _RPG! Pull up! Pull up!_ "

The Vulture 2-2 is briefly driven back as the team enters the warehouse and clears it. As they come out the other side, they engage another large group of hostiles trying to make their escape from the area.

Needing air support, Wollcraft contacted the helicopter to eliminate the enemy forces, "Vulture 2-2, keep us covered!"

Hearing the confirmation from the pilot, " _Copy. Inbound for gun run._ "

The Vulture 2-2 goes on a strafing run, clearing a path for the team to push forward. When they come to a construction area, they meet heavy resistance from the terrorist trying to make their escape from the area.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATAT***

Wallcroft hid behind a stack of steel bars alongside Marcus as he returned fire against the enemy forces firing at them.

"Vulture 2-2, we're taking heavy fire from the West! I need you to hit 'em again!"

Vulture 2-2 responded back, " _Coming back around. Danger close._ "

The Vulture 2-2 again sweeps the area with minigun fire and rockets to support the team. They push forward and the hostiles retreated to an underground tunnel that was linked up to the exits around the city.

Griffin saw what the enemy was doing and told the others about the direction was headed in, "They're falling back to the tube!"

Wallcroft told command what was going on at the moment, "Baseplate, hostiles are leggin' it back to the tube. We're pursuing on foot!"

'Baseplate' responded, " _Copy that. Vulture 2-2, scout ahead and check stops. Find out where they're headed._ "

Vulture 2-2 accepted and broke away from the area, " _Vulture 2-2, breaking away._ "

The team pursues the hostiles as they enter an underground train waiting for them. The train starts moving and leaves the area as the SAS teams approach. Soon they saw the trucks parked nearby and Wollcraft got an idea

Wallcroft ordered. "Everyone in the trucks, now! Burns, get in the truck now!"

The SAS team gets on two trucks nearby. Burns gets on the back of the truck driven by Griffin, accompanied by Wallcroft as they started going after the train through the tunnels underneath the city streets.

Wallcroft said, "Hold on!"

Griffin starts the truck and the two trucks carrying the SAS teams pursue the underground train. They follow it into a tunnel. They exchange fire with the hostiles riding the train. An RPG is fired from the train towards the .

Vulture 2-2 warned, " _RPG!_ "

Wallcroft called out to them, "Try and get along side it!"

Griffin drives to the left of the train and tries to catch up with it. A bright light shines in front of them as they realized this was another train that coming towards them. The leader of the other SAS team called out to them.

" _This is Bravo nine leader; Incoming train! Go right! Go right!_ "

Griffin steers right and barely dodges the train coming towards.

Wallcroft chuckled, "A little close there, mate!"

Griffin responded back, irritated by his commander's words. "Sod off! We're still in one piece!"

Wallcroft only nodded back as Burns called out to Griffin, "Just keep her steady!"

Griffin drives along the right side of the train. Burns exchanges fire with the hostiles on the train and manages to kill a few of the terrorist on board the train heading whatever destination they needed to get to.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

The train switches lanes and the trucks drive along the left side.

The experienced SAS operator contacted 'Baseplate', "We're tracking hostiles through the tube! We need to know where they're headed!"

'Baseplate' could be heard over their radio as they warned them of what was in front of them from here on out, " _Bravo six, all metro exits from your location onwards are located within the city, over._ "

The train switches to the right lane. While the train and trucks come to a platform where civilians are standing, and all of them trying to get out of the way when they saw the gunfire between the two different groups.

Wallcroft warned the others where they were shooting, "Watch your fire! Civvies up ahead!"

As the train passes the platform, gunfire from the train wipes out half of the civilians that were caught in the crossfire between the SAS operators and terrorist. The train goes into another tunnel with the trucks still in pursuit.

Wallcroft grabbed his radio and contacted the helicopter supporting them, "Vulture 2-2, where the hell are you?!"

Vulture 2-2 responds to them, " _Got your position Wollcraft, got the target. Inbound and hot._ "

As they come out of the tunnel, the trucks dodge another incoming train. Vulture 2-2 fires its guns on the hostile train, but it keeps running even after the punishment it took from the helicopter. They come into another tunnel.

Wallcroft demanded an answer after seeing the train continue to race forward, "Why's that driver still breathing?!"

The trucks drive into a brick tunnel, briefly cut off from the train until they heard contact them.

Bravo nine's leader called out to them, "... _(Argh)_...I can't get a bloody shot!

They come out of the tunnel. A platform is between the trucks and the train. They continue to exchange fire until they were about to approach another tunnel as Wollcraft as well as Marcus realized where this train was heading.

Wallcroft contacts the others, "This line goes straight to Westminster! We have to stop this thing, now!"

They go through another tunnel until the SAS team in the truck in front of them called out to them.

Bravo nine's leader sees an opportunity, "I see the driver! Taking the shot!"

Bravo nine's truck is driving slightly ahead of the train as one of their tries to take the shot. However, Bravo nine's leader aims at the front of the train, trying to kill the driver, but he is shot and killed instantly.

SAS Soldier yelled over the radio as one of their own goes down, "Man down! Man down!"

Bravo nine's truck steers to the right, in front of the train, and gets crushed by it. But in the process, the train derails. One by one, the train cars flip over to their side and roll sideways, smashing through the concrete columns.

Wallcroft called out to the rest of them, "Hold on!"

They saw the third train car get derailed from the track and soon the car the team was in got hit by the train. Soon the car had rolled over from a result of being hit by the train.

With the last image he saw before blacking out was a girl around his age with bright purple eyes that twinkled like any star in the night sky and purple hair that not many would have today. Someone that he cares for too much to let her know about his current occupation in life.

One that involved fighting people like the very ones his team was after...

While she may be fighting for her dreams, he was fighting to get back to her in one piece before the end of this night.

' _Sylvia...I'll make it back..._ '

* * *

 **Another done, and to start another one will be fun...**

 **Yeah, this chapter was kinda cool and inspired from the scene in Olympus has Fallen, where the terrorist contact the room with the militrary commanders and stuff.**

 **So that's where that had come from. This was also a bit inspired by the MW3 mission 'Mind the Gap' and adding in my own stuff to it as the character Burns, who is only two years older than Ayato in my story, is going to be relevant to the story.**

 **Cleveland is a city of champions once again after 52 years...if you don't know what I'm talking about, well don't worry about it. (P.S this chapter was meant to go up sometime ago, but I was burnt out from writing this!)**

 **So see ya later guys!**


	12. Chapter 12

" _There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare._ " - Sun Tzu

* * *

 **Location Unknown**

 **Sometime later**

Darkness was all Marcus Burns could see for a few moments until he started waking up from what had happened to his teammates not too long ago. As he tries to get up from the ground and was barely awake at the moment after the crashing alongside the train.

Looking not too far from him, he sees the flaming train wreck at the end of the tunnel, wondering where the hell Wollcraft was at the moment. The truck on the young man's left has been tipped over, also wrecked.

Walking towards it, he saw the body of Griffin inside the truck. Seeing the man's neck was snapped in half and saw he wasn't breathing anymore.

' _Damn it...he's dead..._ '

Thought the young man as he heard someone's voice over the radio. With the first thing he was thinking of was commander back at the base.

Soon realizing that it was Baseplate contacting them, "Bravo six, come in. Bravo six, do you copy?"

Burns notices someone else getting up from the ground and realizes that it's Wallcroft, who walking away from the truck. The older man sees Marcus and calls out to him, seeing if he was alright after what they had just went through not too long ago.

"Burns... _(coughs)_...you alright?"

Calls out Wollcraft as Marcus walked up next to him.

Baseplate contacted them once again, "Bravo six, what's your status?"

Wallcroft replied after getting his seeing the wreckage of the train, "The train's done in under Westminster. Those bastards were using it for transport, but transport for what is something we can't figure out."

For Marcus his voice still a little distorted due to his injuries from the crash.

Baseplate's voice could be heard once again and warned them about what was heading their way, "Be advised, the remaining trucks are headed in your direction. Get topside and RV with Bravo two before they reach you."

Wallcroft listened and responded, "Copy. Come on, Burns. It looks like it's just us now."

Checking the status of their weapons, they grabbed what ammo they could find off the bodies of their teammates. With Marcus saying a small prayer for his friends that died in the crash. The two soon moved up to the wrecked train and climb into the carriage. Keeping their weapons fully loaded in case they needed to engage any enemy forces in the train station they were in at the moment.

However, it didn't take them long to hear voices ahead of them. With them identifying some of them speaking languages from Russian to even English being heard throughout some of their conversations.

Not even hesitating, they jumped onto the concrete pathway and started firing on the enemy forces in the station. Having the element of surprise mattered as the terrorist couldn't react in time and were killed before they knew it.

Wallcroft contacted command about the enemy forces they just engaged, "Baseplate, we got contact at Westminster Station!"

Baseplate told them to hurry, "Copy, Bravo six. Teams are en route to the station. ETA ten minutes."

Not pleased with how long they would need to wait, Wollcraft told them to hurry up.

"Tell 'em to double-time it, now!"

They soon engage hostiles at the station. Marcus hid behind one of the concrete pillars to avoid enemy fire. Once he heard the sounds of reloading, he popped around the corner and started unleashing a volley of bullets at the enemy.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATAT***

Wollcraft did the same and saw the enemy forces being cut down as they couldn't reload in time before being killed by the special forces operators shooting at them with pinpoint accuracy. However, the enemy soon started retreating from this area of the train station.

Though the two SAS operators managed to kill a few more of the retreating hostile forces.

 ***RATATAT***

 ***BANG, BANG***

Seeing that they were most likely waiting for them to go around the corner, Marcus stacked up behind Wollcraft as he threw a flashbang around the corner to stun the enemy forces. Once they heard the device go off and sounds of voices in confusion

"C'mon, mate! Let's give these bastards a proper British welcome!"

The older SAS operator said and started firing at the hostile forces. A few moments had passed and the effects of the flashbang wore off and before they could start firing their weapons the two special forces operators shot those that remained behind as the others made a run for it.

 ***RATATATAT***

Wallcroft called out to Marcus, "Check those corners!"

Seeing the hallway they were in, it was here that Marcus noticed the few civilians that were hiding from the gun battle between the two sides. As he took cover behind one of the pillars near him, he called out to Wollcraft.

"Wallcroft, watch out for civilians in the area!"

They engage more hostiles defending the station as they were trying to make their escape from the area.

"Baseplate! Where's that backup?"

Using his radio, the older operator was waiting for an answer as to where their back-up was at the moment. As the area was crawling with hostile forces, the two of them continued fighting their way through.

"Local police are arriving on scene. Bravo 2 will be on station in five minutes."

Wallcroft wasn't entirely pleased and Marcus knew that well with how he didn't hesitate to kill some of the terrorist by blowing their heads off, spraying blood and gray matter all over the floor of the station, "Bollocks! Nothing takes five minutes!"

They soon eliminate the hostiles in the area, with what remained of them were falling back.

"Keep pushing! They're falling back! Up the stairs!"

Marcus listening as Wollcraft barked out the order with the intention of making sure the enemy didn't live to see another day. After seeing a few of them running up the escalator with a few of them positioned at the very top to protect them from fire.

 ***RATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Both SAS soldiers unleash a hail of bullets as they killed the terrorist at the top of the escalator. As Burns walks up the escalator to secure the next floor, a grenade is heard by both men being thrown down towards their position.

Wallcroft is the first to hear it, "Grenade!"

Burns moves back immediately as the grenade bounces down, which explodes at the middle of the escalator just a few seconds later.

 ***BOOOMMMM***

Within a few moments, both SAS operators make their way to the top of the escalator with Marcus overhearing Wollcraft mutter something out.

"Cheeky bastards!"

They come up the next floor and engage more hostile forces as they tried to make their escape from the station. The two of them eliminate what enemy forces remained on the floor and continued up to the next floor.

"Baseplate! Where's that backup?"

Wollcraft took cover behind a wall as he asked Baseplate for the status of their reinforcements, only to hear the only good news of this mission today.

"They're arriving on scene now."

After Marcus finished off the few enemy terrorist left, they jumped over a ticket gate. At the tunnel, what enemy forces that had survived until this point are either killed or restrained by additional SAS soldiers arriving on scene.

Wallcroft called out to Marcus, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire! Nice timing, mates!"

One of the SAS soldiers looked over to the two of them, "The truck is almost here! You'd better get topside!"

Wallcroft and Burns go up the stairs to the streets. Local police are keeping civilians away from the streets, however Marcus noticed something in the air, something that he didn't need to see in the air at the moment.

Above them was a news helicopter, and with what's going on at the moment, he would think that Sylvia would want to know where he is at the moment.

Though his thoughts were broken when he heard the voice of Vulture two-two over the radio.

"All teams, be advised. The truck is headed your way and coming in hot."

The military gunship lands on the street and drops off more SAS soldiers to reinforce the area. They set up a roadblock to intercept the truck, heading their way.

Bravo two's leader called out to everyone else, "Secure the area!"

Police cars formed a blockade and SAS soldiers held their position behind the police cars.

"The truck will be here any second! We need to lock this road down now!"

Wallcroft gave out a few orders for everyone else, "Everyone at the blockade! Stack up!"

The truck being chased by police cars appeared at the end of the street and began driving towards the roadblock being used by the SAS soldiers. Then they were given the order to fire on the truck heading for them.

"There's the truck! Weapons free!"

Wallcroft told Marcus something else, "Aim for that bloody driver!"

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

All the SAS operators fired their weapons at the truck. Within a few moments, the truck turns hard and flips over onto its side and stops short of the intersection. Leaving many within the crowd to wonder what was inside the truck that required the attention of their nation's special forces units.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire! All clear?"

"Clear!"

Responded one of the SAS soldiers as they made their way towards the truck.

They surrounded the truck.

"Baseplate, the lorry's down. We're secure. What's the status on the others? Baseplate, come in. Baseplate, where are the trucks?!"

Wollcraft yelled into his radio as Marcus wondered what could possibly be taking them so long to find the other trucks in the city. Though their answer would be given to them in a way none of them expected it to.

"Get out of there! All SAS units! Away from the trucks!"

Baseplate's voice could be heard over the radio...

They all looked at the truck and soon realized what they were meant to do...

"Burns!"

It would be the last thing the soldier would hear before an explosion went off in front of them, releasing a chemical weapon in the process.

 ***BOOOOOMMMMMM***

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 11: Secrets Revealed**

 **That Same Day**

Ayato sat where he always did in homeroom, near the middle of the back with Julis on his right and his friend Yabuki sat behind him. These two made his days bearable in class as he listened to the teacher ramble on about...something?

The young mercenary wasn't in the mood for school. Period.

He was used to feeling excitement from going on missions and doing something with his time. Though he'd rather be shot at than to be sitting in a classroom with someone at the front, continuing to talk about things that he may never use.

However, there wasn't anything he could do about it in the end...

Just as Ayato was about to fall asleep, he soon heard the final bell for the day go off.

"Finally...this day is over..."

Getting up from his seat, he saw everyone else packing up their things and heading for any clubs they attended to going home to do homework. He looked over to see Julis was sleeping on her desk, a small smile crept on his face.

He knew she would want to be woken up in case something like this happened. Though as for why Julis of all people was sleeping, it had something to do with their training for the festa that was coming up in a few more weeks from now.

Ayato didn't have much spare time and most times, they would spend training and would usually end with the princess finishing up their spars on the verge of sleeping.

'I'm sure she's going to kick my ass if I don't wake her up.'

Though he wanted to get something enjoyable out of this day, as most of his days have involved going through different files about high value targets close to Vendricks, the man that is rumored to have met with the leader of the PLM.

So he didn't get much sleep after doing training and his personal occupation.

The young man placed his hand on her shoulder and started rocking her gently, causing her to stir from her slumber. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal the crystal blue color that captivated Ayato everytime he saw them.

"A-Ayato...?"

Asked Julis, who was trying to shake off the hands of sleep as she looked around the class for a moment. It was here that Ayato saw shock in her eyes as Julis must have realized by now that she had fallen asleep during class.

The young princess soon saw that just about everyone left the classroom except for those that were currently asking the teacher questions about class.

"Do not tell me that I fell asleep in class?! Ayato? Please tell me that's not what I think happened."

Julis asked, and the expression on her boyfriend's face that said it all.

"Well, uh, how can I say this babe? I'm not going to lie...you did sleep through class."

She sighed in defeat, knowing that she was going to have to spend some time having tonight copying the notes they took in class today. Of all the things that Julis hated doing was wasting time that she could be spending on other things like training with Ayato.

Ayato continued to pack his things, "You can borrow the notes from me if you want. Though I do have some...'work' that needs attention, so if you want I can drop by your dorm later tonight to help you out with that."

"Ehhh?"

The princess stood up from her desk with a confused expression on her face. He raised an eyebrow at her response, "What? You don't like it when your boyfriend wants to help you out with something?"

Realizing that she gave him the wrong impression, Julis shook her head and started explaining what she meant by that.

"No, no! That wasn't what I meant...it's just that with how busy you've been most nights with your work...I didn't want to trouble you with such a thing like school. It's my fault for falling asleep so I should accept that..."

She soon felt an arm wrap around her waist causing her to blush from the sudden closeness with her boyfriend.

"Julis...look at me."

Doing as he said, she looked up at him as she was about an inch or two shorter than him.

"I think you need to realize that you're pretty important to me babe. Besides, there's enough time in the world for me to spare some time with you, so don't act like I'd rather do work over spending time with my beautiful girlfriend."

Said girl didn't respond for a few moments before sighing and looking back at him with a smile.

"I-idiot...there isn't enough time in the world...but I'm happy that you're willing to save some time for me."

Even though she wanted him to focus on his own personal things, Julis wasn't against the idea of just spend some time with Ayato as a normal pair of teenagers - well as normal as possible - in this day and age.

As Julis got her things ready to go, Ayato waited for her in order to walk together back to their dorms.

While for the most part the two had walked back to their dorms after school finished, they tended to make sure no one overheard their conversations as their relationship was still unknown to most of the student population. It also didn't help the other person Ayato was also with was;

Claudia, of all people, in Julis's mind.

Both girls didn't mind sharing Ayato after seeing the attention he gave to the both of them equally. However, most people would either be upset to see a relationship of this sort, or with some of the males being jealous.

As the two continued to make their way back, the young mercenary soon started up a conversation with Julis.

"So, um, Julis. I've always kinda wondered what it felt like to be the center of attention back where you're from? I mean I'm well-known...instead of being famous, I'm infamous throughout most conflict-riddled nations."

Looking over towards her boyfriend, she knew they hadn't had much time to ask about things of that nature or anything involving their home life.

She bit her lip in thought, trying to form words that would make sense.

"The best way to explain is if everyone wanted you to do great things and you wanted to fill that sense of responsibility yet, there was something blocking any of it from happening. Something that could derail any hope of fufilling that role. In a way, that's what it feels like to be a princess from my country, one where everything is given to you and yet, you want to do everything you want to on your own."

Julis knew that being a princess wasn't everything that people thought it was. There was hard work that needed to be done and she wasn't someone that was going to try her damned hardest to accomplish her goals in life.

After a while, she soon decided to ask Ayato a question that she's been wondering for some time now.

"Hey Ayato, can I ask you something?"

The young mercenary nodded his head in response to the princess's question.

"Could you tell me about your family? There wasn't much you told me and Claudia besides your older sister that disappeared some time ago."

The princess caught the hesitation in his eyes for a moment. However, he soon started speaking about his family.

"...Julis, I ain't any different than some people out there."

He sighed as he continued talking, "My mother passed away from an illness when I was still too young to remember her in anyway whatsoever, though I occasionally wonder what she was like when she was still alive. I rarely heard about her in the house as it was most likely the pain it brought to my older sister and father. Then there's my father, and my relationship with him has become worse over the past few years with my job as a mercenary. Even to this day, I still remember some of the moments I shared with him from when our fishing trips to late nights helping me with school projects..."

Wondering why he stopped talking, Julis saw a ghost of a smile on Ayato's face. Though it didn't last long as it was replaced by a thin line.

"And soon after me joining the ISD, things became silent between us...he didn't know or still doesn't know the truth about what I do for a living in this world of ours. Even to this very day..."

The two remained silent on the way to their dorms, but with the sun setting in the background, letting them know that the day was almost over.

Once they reached the girl's dorm, Ayato placed both of his arms around her waist, causing her to face him.

"Though...for me, I'd rather pay attention to the present and focus on who's in front of me. I have a job that doesn't exactly have flexible hours."

His smile was more than enough for Julis to blush as she knew Ayato wasn't the best looking guy on campus nor the worst. The man in front of her was someone that went through a struggle and continued forward. With him having more than enough patience with her and always put her ahead of himself. Julis couldn't describe the feeling she had whenever she spent time with Ayato, all she could say was that she felt love, joy, or anything else in that same manner.

' _M-maybe..._ '

A thought popped into her head, one that someone her age wasn't supposed to be thinking. Though being a princess from a kingdom in Europe, she knew that with what was happening in her own country as well as the nations to the east that were consumed with war, she needed to find some kind of happiness while she could.

Though, she would save those thoughts for later.

She leaned in closer and wrapped her arms around his neck with their lips brushing up against the other whenever they spoke. While the two knew the risk of showing this kind of affection for each other, it had been a few weeks since they started dating, realizing that at some point people would find out.

"You know...I always wondered how someone like me managed to find someone as amazing as you?"

Julis simply smiled at his question and kissed him without any hesitation whatsoever. It was the first time that she did so, but the young princess found courage to do so.

"My answer to that would be simple; you came into my life Ayato...that's all there is to it."

The two spent a few more minutes together before remembering they both had things that needed to be done. Ayato had told Julis that he would come by - rather sneak in - in order to give her the notes she needed from class today and to give her an update with things surrounding what the teacher mentioned today.

As the young mercenary started walking back to his dorm, there was quite a bit on his mind as he knew the information he received the other night was still being confirmed by his sources back at headquarters.

' _Still I don't think someone like him could lie about information that could overthrow someone that has been standing in his way for years now. All I have to do is wait for the guys at Intel to confirm the information he was given._ '

He continued to think about the meeting he had a man that hated Vendrick with a passion and someone that was well-known for having information on just about anyone in the city, or hell even the eastern half of the globe for that matter.

A man that went by the name of Dragovich.

Someone that was well known for being the last person on Earth to ever screw over...

Though Ayato looked towards the female dorms for a moment before walking towards the bridge that connected both Seikdoukan and Asterisk City, knowing that he was going to finally get closer towards finding Menedez.

' _That bastard better be ready..._ '

 **~o0o~**

 **Asterisk City**

 **The Day Before**

 _As Ayato made his way through the shady parts of the city, the soldier of fortune arrived at his destination; a large casino that was considered a place where most crime bosses that resided in the city had usually come to play and see how the others are doing._

 _He was currently wearing a pair of black pants with combat boots while wearing a black dress shirt with a leather jacket that was hiding his holsters carrying his pistols. The young man was the farthest thing from an idiot in this situation._

 _The last thing to do was to go into a place as dangerous as this with no protection whatsoever._

 _'_ Let's hope things go well...this time _'_

 _That's what Ayato was hoping at the moment with what happened last time he visited an establishment such as this, and it ended with dead bodies of mercnearies on the ground and a bullet wound for him._

 _Once he approached the door, and with a place like this, it was a normal casino in every sense. Though there were bodyguards making sure to keep everyone that was a danger to their client, then they would remove them without making a disturbance._

 _Ayato made his way to the front door, and was soon stopped by one of the bouncers._

 _"State your business?"_

 _The man asked, who wasn't asking for a reason, he was demanding one from the young man in front of him._

 _Before the young mercenary was given this assignment, he was told the set of words necessary to be allowed inside a location like this. Ayato was supposed to meet with a man that few people knew the existence of in the world._

 _A man that knew anything you needed to know, no matter what it is..._

 _"Knowledge is power. Information is power. The secreting or hoarding of knowledge or information may be an act of tyranny camouflaged as humility."_

 _Spoke the young soldier, remembering the words he needed. Yet, these very words let him know that information in this world was more valuable than anything else that people could get their hands on._

 _The bouncer looked at Ayato with surprise, though he didn't say anything as he signaled to Ayato to follow him._

 _As they walked through the casino, all the young man could see were crime bosses to politicans from other countries drinking, smoking in peace. Knowing that the world was a place where under the table deals took place all the time to corruption finding it's way into governments of today._

 _While Ayato knew there wasn't anything he could do about it, the young mercenary simply made the best of it with those that he cared for._

 _"Right this way."_

 _Said the bouncer after they walked into an elevator. Once they stood inside, the man pressed a button that took them to the top of the building._

 _Looking behind him, Ayato saw the skyscrapers for miles as the city of greed came alive after the sun went down. People of the criminal world knew the city was theirs as police officers were paid off to look the other way to people within the council letting incidents slip._

 _'_ A world on fire, huh, who would've thought... _'_

 _While Ayato continued to muse on the world he lived in, the elevator had come to a stop._

 _"We're almost there."_

 _Continuing to follow the bouncer, Ayato saw the floor they were on was almost empty as there were a few people here. Though the floor itself was quite beautiful as the walls were made of glass that let anyone see any angle of Asterisk City while marble pillars held up the roof to the middle of the floor was a hole that lead straight down to the casino._

 _The bouncer lead the soldier to a table that was tucked away in the corner where a man was sitting in peace. Getting a closer look of the man, he looked to be in his early thirties with pale skin with dark brown hair that hidden underneath a black bowler hat and a clean white suit. His eyes were hidden by a pair of glasses._

 _Once they stood in front of the man, the bouncer whispered something into his ear while Ayato stood there. Then the older man spoke up in a heavy Russian accent once he started speaking another language._

 _"Well, well...a member of the ISD. It must be serious if the ISD send in their...Crimson Ghost. One of the few Genestella within the armed forces of any nation, or organization in the world we live in..."_

 _As the last set of words left the man's mouth, Ayato glared at the older man as he continued speaking. Something was wasn't right about the situation, "I take it that you need something from me if you've come all this way."_

 _Ayato simply sat across from the Russian man without saying a word to him._

 _"So if what I'm here for that reason?"_

 _Ayato knew he couldn't slip up by saying anything involving the reason for needing this information._

 _"Then what could you possibly need that the ISD can't find out about. With the resources from two countries like my own as well as the US should be more than enough to find out what is needed for whatever you guys are doing."_

 _The mercenary sighed, "Look, I don't want to waste your time and you don't me to waste yours. Just tell me if you know anything about Vendrick, a crime lord that's pretty damn well known around the criminal underworld."_

 _"Ahh...so that's who you're after."_

 _Replied the older man._

 _"Well, I do know a few things about him. Nothin' personal of course, simply a few people that work for him and those that are within his social circles. That's all I know about the man, well that's all anyone really knows besides those who know him."_

 _Dragovich said with the mercenary knowing that a man with his kind of reputation had nothing to gain with lying with what he knew. In this day, someone like him would fetch a pretty penny for what they knew._

 _"So who exactly can tell us about Vendrick?"_

 _Ayato asked, wanting to get out of here as quickly as he can. Knowing that Julis and Claudia were going to get worried if he_

 _"There's one man in this city that may know what you're looking for..."_

 _It was here that Ayato started getting a bit impatient, "So who is it?"_

 _"A man that goes by the name of Alex the Red..."_

 **~o0o~**

 **Location Unknown**

 **Few Hours Later**

Inside a room were four individual wearing combat armor with a symbol of a knife with a pair of wings on the side and a skull floating above it. A symbol that was well known throughout the world for being those that were special forces operators within the ISD.

One that was feared by terrorist and civilians alike...

At the front of the room was a screen that showed satellite imagery of the Middle East.

"Gentlemen, I know we would rather be home at the moment. However, something important as come to our attention after Mr. Amagiri getting the information that may lead us to the capture of the PLM's leader."

The screen soon changed to show an image of a man around his mid twenties with dark facial hair and brown eyes. Ayato looked down to see his name, and just like he was told by the man called Dragovich.

"Alejandro Rojas..."

As if the voice heard him, he responded.

"Yes, this would be Vendrick's right hand man when it comes to his arms deals as well as someone that isn't someone that travels lightly as he always spotted with some guards to protect him from any threats."

The screen soon showed an image of a massacre, one that had happened in Iraq a few weeks ago.

"As you all know, there was an incident that occurred in Iraq not too long ago as one of our teams assigned to supporting the Iraqi security forces on the streets of Baghdad was attacked by insurgent forces and soldiers weren't the only targets in mind as every civilian caught in the open was killed along with the soldiers."

Images played out as men, women, and children were gunned down while ISD forces were being torn a part by machine gun fire to rocket propelled grenades.

"We tracked the origins of the ammo being used in the incident, and what we found was that they came from someone in China, more specifically Shangai. And as our friend Ayato found out a few days ago; Alejandro Rojas."

Harper spoke up for the first time since entering the room.

"Never heard of him, Sir."

The man speaking used another name that was more familiar to some of them in the room besides Ayato, "You know him as Alex the Red. He supplied the assault that lead to the deaths of over a few hundred people including the deaths of ten ISD soldiers."

They all knew that this attack wasn't meant to do anything more than to distract the ISD from what was really happening.

"Finding Alex is important and the closer we can get to finding Vendrick, means the closer we get to finding Menedez and ending whatever it is that's he's planning."

All of them knew the importance of this mission...

 **~o0o~**

 **["Rabbit's Foot"]**

 **[June 16th, 2025 - 15:08:18]**

 **[LT. Ayato Amagiri]**

 **[ISD Special Forces]**

 **[Shanghai, China]**

Rain was pouring over the massive city of Shanghai as Ayato's team was currently following a white van through the densely packed district of Shaolin. The vehicle was reported by their intel to be heading up to meet with their primary target. Though they made sure to stay some distance away in order to minimize any chance of being noticed.

Ayato spoke over the radio to Salazar, who was currently moving along the rooftop of the buildings, "Salazar, the plates are a match."

His response was difficult to hear as the rain was making communications difficult between them, "Copy. Any sign of Rojas' right hand man?"

It was this time that David cut in, "Negative. They've stopped twice already. No sign of him."

The van stopped in front of a building. Seeing this, they parked the van some distance away in order to avoid suspicion and allow them to observe what was about to go on. However, the rain was making visibility difficult.

David narrowed his eyes as he saw the van come to a hault in front of a building, "Wait, they've stopped again. Standby."

Two men, who were armed with assault rifles, had gotten out of the white van and started approach Rojas' assistant with their guns being aimed towards the assistant. Due to their distance away, none of them could hear the conversation playing out, though they got an idea as the assistant held his hands up.

Making sure not to alert those in front, Ayato called out to Salazar over his radio, "Got a positive ID! Whoever these guys are, they're not happy to see him..."

Soon Rojas' assistant pulls out a heavy pistol and fires on the two men sent to kill him. Just as they thought that was it, another armed person came from behind the van and Rojas' assistant shoots him in the head.

"Salazar, we have a situation here!"

Once David called out to their teammate as Rojas' assistant turns and fires upon the car Ayato and David were currently inside of.

"Get down! Get down!"

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Ayato and David duck to avoid the gunfire, but the bullets hit the driver that the ISD assigned to them, whose dead body presses against the car horn. Knowing that they needed to pursue on foot, the two special forces operators exited the vehicle and started giving chase to the man.

"He's getting away! David let's go let's go!"

They jump out of the car and chased down Rojas's assistant. It was here that Ayato pulled out his ACR Grenadier with an ACOG Scope, a weapon that he was more than happy to use for this mission. Running past the crashed civilian cars and people running in fear of what they heard.

"Salazar, our driver's dead! We're on foot! Meet us at the hotel Rio and cut him off if you can!"

Just as Ayato finished speaking with Salazar, they continued to give chase as the rain wasn't making their lives easier and with the gear they carried, it didn't help them much. A few moments later, they got a response from their sniper.

"Entendido, I'm on my way."

It didn't take long for the two operators on the ground to turn the corner onto a busy street with civilians and cars, with people getting in the way. From their right side, Salazar met up with David and Ayato as they chased after Rojas' assistant.

"He went into the alley!"

David reminded the two of their objective, "Non-lethal takedowns only! We need him alive!"

They soon chased down Rojas' assistant into the alley and saw him about to turn, this is where Rojas' assistant was hoping to get away from the soldiers that are after him. Though that day wouldn't be today...

"Ayato - take the shot! Go for his leg!"

 ***BANG***

It didn't take long for Ayato to fire his assault rifle at Rojas' assistant in the leg, causing him to fall down. The three began to approach the man with caution as they didn't know if he was still armed or not.

"He's down."

With the amount of people and panic in the air, both David and Salazar started moving the assistant to a secure location as the rain was continuing to beat them down. Once they found an abandoned garage, they threw the man inside.

"From what our info said, this man was heading up to meet with Rojas. I say that we try and cut him off before he realizes what's going on."

Both David and Salazar understood where Ayato was coming from and knew that they needed to get Rojas. They soon came up with a plan that involved both David and Salazar to stay inside the garage and Ayato will take the other two men assigned to support them.

Just as Ayato left, he could see that they didn't hesitate to torture the man. The last thing he could see was them interrogating Rojas' assistant in a garage. Salazar sparked car battery cables and turns to Rojas' assistant, who was tied to a chair.

"Ayato, this might take a little while to get what we need. Meet up with Meat and Royce and check the favela for any sign of Rojas - that's where this guy over here was headed from what the briefing told us."

David finished speaking and closed the garage door to begin interrogating Roja's assistant. Ayato, Royce, and Meat head towards the favela to search for Rojas.

The three mercenaries had started making their way down a path, "Let's go. Remember - there are civilians in the favela. Watch your fire out there."

After a few minutes of moving through the alleyways, they soon see a few vans pulling into the area and realized that these were PLM soldiers sent in to kill Rojas. The three soldiers stop in front a fence with a small drop into the favela, where civilians were standing around.

"Meat, get these civvies out of here."

Ayato called out to Meat, who nodded back, "Roger that."

Meat dropped off the ledge the drop and fired his gun into the air. Speaking in Mandarin for those around them to understand, and it was clear they all understood as they started running from the area.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATAT***

"Zhège dìfāng shì bùshì ānquán!" _(This place isn't safe!)_

It was here that they started moving through the area until they heard voices and sounds of footsteps approaching them. They soon were fired on by PLM forces that had snuck into the area and were sent to kill them.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Royce took cover behind one of the brick walls and contacted the others, who were still interrogating the man, "Bravo Six, be advised - we've engaged enemy forces and they're PLM forces at the lower village. Roach! I'm with you! Watch the rooftops! Go!"

They started firing back at the enemy and Ayato was pinned down by the enemy soldiers closing in on him and his other teammates.

David's voice was heard over the radio, "Royce, gimme a sit-rep, over!"

Ayato responded with nothing but sarcasm in his voice, something he knew that would let David know how this situation was going, "Well David, we got PLM forces and no sign of Rojas over here, over!

Firing back at the wave of PLM soldiers that attempted to rush the three of them, Ayato fired at the man's head causing blood and brain matter to splatter on the wall, "Copy that! Keep searching! Let me know if you see him! Out!"

David responded. Just as they continued moving up, Ayato saw Meat on the other side of the pathway was getting overwhelmed as time seem to slow down as they saw one of the PLM soldiers fire an RPG at the wall that Meat was hiding behind.

"Sir! We need to move up! Let's go!"

Then...

 ***BOOOOMM***

Both him and Royce look to see that Meat was on the verge of death as his leg and arm were blown off from the force of the explosion. Royce had made his way towards their heavily wounded teammate with Ayato providing covering fire.

 ***RATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATAT***

"Meat is down! I repeat, Meat is down!"

However, just as Royce was about to tell Ayato the status of Meat, he soon heard the sound of flesh being ripped up as the young mercenary look to see his teammate lying with his neck shredded from the gun-fire.

Ayato hid behind the wall as he radioed David for back-up, "David! Royce and Meat are dead, I'll try to make it through the area to meet up with you guys!"

Now on his own, Ayato fights his way to an alleyway between sections of the favela.

"Ayato - we've got Rojas' location! He's heading west along the upper levels of the favela. We'll keep him from doubling back on our side - keep going and cut him off at the top! There's no time for backup. You're gonna have to do this on your own. Good luck. Out."

After hearing the news, the young man started making his way through the area and cleared out of what remained of the PLM forces.

He headed west and up some stairs and heads towards the upper favela. A dog runs up and barks at Ayato from behind the fence. Roach kills it. A civilian started yelling at Ayato in english, "Dude, run, get out of here!"

It was here that Ayato realized that he was warning him about the PLM forces ahead. Ayato moved through the narrow passages and stairwells that were crawling with PLM soldiers as he moved up the favela.

Soon his radio sparked to life, "Ayato - the PLM look like they've been here awhile and they know it well! Keep an eye open for ambush positions and check your corners!"

Ayato started making his way through the buildings and eliminating the PLM soldiers and after some time, he took out the remaining terrorist in the area, then heads up the stairs higher up the favela. He gets ambushed by some enemy soldiers, but he fires back.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATAT***

He hid behind a wall as the enemy unleashed a hail of bullets on him. Reaching into one of his pouches, Ayato pulled the pin on a grenade and threw it towards the PLM soldiers, it didn't take long for the explosion to go off.

 ***BOOOMMM***

With it effectively eliminating them and he soon moved forward.

"Ayato, watch the rooftops! We've had a few close calls with RPGs and machine guns positioned up high! Ayato, we're taking heavy fire from militia here but I'm still tracking Rojas! He's gone into a building! Salazar, you see him?"

David's voice came out of the radio, and along with the sounds of gunfire in the background. Trying to find the source of the noise, Ayato headed towards the general direction of the heavy gunfire between his teammates and enemy forces.

Salazar was soon heard over the radio, "Roger that, he's climbing onto a roof carrying a black duffel bag!"

"Well, that ought to slow him down! Ayato, we're keeping him from doubling back! Keep moving to intercept! Go! Go!"

The young mercenary kept making his way through the area and with the rain making things difficult, Ayato was trying to find the route that would lead him to where Rojas was at the moment. Though there were still PLM forces crawling all over the area.

A few minutes had passed and David spoke up again.

"Keep going! Rojas is still headed towards your side of the favela!"

Ayato responded back, "Don't worry! I see the guy on the rooftop!"

Just as he was about to shoot at the man carrying the dufflebag, Ayato was soon pinned down by the enemy firing at him. Making sure that his attention was on them and not on the arms dealer that was trying to make a run for it.

"Ayato! Don't let the militia pin you down for too long! Use your flashbangs on them!"

"I've lost sight of him again! Salazar, talk to me!"

David asked, with frustration clearly heard in his voice.

Though Salazar spoke up with good news for them, "I'm onto him! He's trying to double back through the alleys below!"

"Roger that! Stay on him!"

Ayato was about to say something when he heard the sound of a window being opened, without even hesitating, Ayato shot at whoever it was that opened the window. He soon saw a body of a terrorist fall onto the ground.

He continued to clear out the enemy forces in his way.

"I've got a got a visual on Rojas! He's cutting through the market!"

Salazar informed them. David replied, "Roger that! I'll head for the rooftops and try to cut him off on the right! He's gonna have no choice but to head west!"

Though it sounded like Salazar was under heavy opposition from where he was, "I'm taking a lot of fire from the militia, I don't think I can track him through the market! I'm gonna have to find another way around!"

Ayato continued up the favela, fighting the PLM forces up and down, left and right as they continued to try the team of mercenaries down.

Soon they heard Salazar's voice once again after a few minutes, "Be advised, I'm about half a click east of the market, I can see Rojas running across the rooftops on my right side!"

"Roger that Salazar! Ayato! We're still corralling him closer to your side of the hill! Keep an eye open for Rojas! He's making his way across the rooftops!"

The young man continued to unleash gunfire towards the rooftops and high windows where the enemy was currently using in order to shoot at them. Though Ayato quickly made short work of the enemy forces.

"Sir, I've got Rojas in my sights! We can go for a clean leg shot! We can end it here!"

Ayato interrupted this time, "Negative! We can't risk it! Do not engage!"

Salazar cursed, "Maldita sea! Roger that!"

David could be heard once again, "Ayato! Keep moving uphill! I've cut him off! He's got nowhere to go but west over the rooftops in your area! Roach, he knows the area well but we can trap him here! Don't stop! Go! Go!"

Ayato cleared more houses and rooftops of PLM forces until he heard Salazar once again.

"He jumped the fence! I'm after him!"

David informed him of his current position, "Roger that! I'm going around to the left! Ayato! He's getting closer to your part of the favela! Keep Moving! Go! Go!"

It was here that Ayato saw Rojas on one of the nearby rooftops, running.

"Ayato! I've spotted Rojas, he's making a run for it! He's headed your way! And don't shoot him! We need him alive and unharmed! Ayato, we're going to cut him off at the summit, keep pushing him that way! Go! Go!"

The young soldier climbed up some rooftops, and engaged more of the PLM forces left.

It was here that David informed them of what Rojas was about to do, "Salazar, Ayato! he's going for that motorcycle!"

"No he's not!"

Salazar said as he started to rush towards the location where Rojas was at the moment.

"Nice! He's breaking to the right again! Ayato, if you see him, do not shoot him! I need him unharmed! We've got eyes on Rojas - wait! Shite! he's headed back towards you Ayato! He's on the move and headed your way! Go! Go! Ayato, keep pushing him uphill! Don't let him double back! Ayato!"

The soldier started to make his way in the general direction that David told him.

"He's jumped another fence and he's still headed towards your end of the favela! Keep moving up! Go! Go! Keep coraling up the hill! We'll cut him off at the top!"

Ayato continued to move forward, taking out what little forces remained in the area that Rojas was spotted in.

"Where is he, where is he?"

Salazar asked, with David already right behind him, "Got a visual! He's over there, sliding down the tin rooftops!"

Though Salazar had called out since he had an open shot on the man they were after, "I've got another clear leg shot!"

Ayato told them what needed to happen, "Negative! Not unless you wanna carry him back out with all this militia breathing down your neck! I need him unharmed!

The young mercenary clears the area near the summit. He heads up some stairs and hears the radio go off once again.

"Salazar, I'm going far right!"

Salazar heard David's message and responded back, "Roger that! He's gonna get away!"

"No he's not."

Ayato arrives at the summit, with Rojas at the top of a three story house. Suddenly, David had jumped through the window, tackling Rojas onto a car down below them. Salazar joins in and they hold the arms dealer down at gunpoint.

"Frontrunner, this is Bravo Six. We've got the package. I repeat, we have got the package."

Soon Ayato started contacting command, "Command, ready for dustoff. Send the chopper. Coordinates to fol...What the hell do you mean!? The skies are clear! Send the chopper now! Command's got their head up their ass at the moment. We're on our own."

Though he was worried about the reasoning behind command's inability to send in a chopper.

' _Well...Claudia, Julis...I'm going to be late..._ '

* * *

 **Now things have become interesting with the military element I've added into this story and this is just the beginning ladies and gentlemen.**

 **So I'll be writing the next chapter and probably do a few for this one as I've gotten some more motivation to write this story out after taking a bit of a break from writing stories as the summer is done and with school going into full swing.**

 **I pretty suck at romance...yeah, that explains a lot actually. XD**

 **Besides that, I hope you have a nice day!**


	13. Chapter 13

"The military don't start wars. Politicians start wars." - William Westmoreland

* * *

 **Same Day**

 **London, United Kingdom**

"This way people! Keep it moving!"

Marcus was currently helping the local law enforcement to help evacuate people from the surrounding area as the chemical weapon that went off in the area was beginning to subside for now, though there was no telling if there was any other dangers within the city.

After being pushed away from the area of the explosion from the truck, he awoke to find most of the SAS operators either dead by the gas or the initial blast that killed them.

However, by sheer luck, he found that Wollcraft had survived the blast as well as the chemical weapon.

It didn't take long for additional military forces to arrive in the city and began to search the city as well as the surrounding area in order to make sure that there wasn't any other surprises in store for the British.

"Burns! We need to hurry up!"

Looking to his right, he saw Wollcraft rushing towards him.

"I know that Sergeant!"

As they finished helping people move out of the area, they were soon contacted by Baseplate after some time.

"Wollcraft, Burns. I'm sending a transport to a location nearby. We're getting a message from the corporate leaders of the world about one of their 'assets' needing to be secured. So we're sending you two and another unit to secure the person."

The two of them understood what they were told, especially Marcus.

He knew the person that they were referring to. Someone that the young soldier had come to know from his early years of being a teenager, someone that the young man couldn't picture a life without.

"Roger that sir."

Wollcraft responded as they started making their way through the area of the city that was affected by the gas.

For a few minutes, there was silence between the two soldiers as they knew there wasn't anything to talk about as Marcus was concerned about Sylvia. He hadn't spoken to her since this whole incident had happened.

Though it was his job to deal with this situation.

There wasn't any way around this. It was what Marcus signed up for the moment that he became an SAS operator.

After moving through the inner city that was nearly void of life as the two men could see the remnants of the gas still affecting the area. It was here that they heard the familiar sound of helicopter blades above them.

Looking up, they could see a black hawk had started hovering near their position.

"Sgt. Wollcraft! This is Delta 2-2!"

Wollcraft didn't take long to respond, "Alright pilot! Just land your arses on the ground get us to the location we're needed at."

The pilot did what he was told and started landing the military helicopter. Once it was a few inches off the ground, both Wollcraft and Marcus had climbed inside the transport, only to see four other SAS soldiers that were assigned to work alongside them.

"Sgt. Wollcraft! I'm Lt. Aldridge! My unit was ordered to assist you in this mission."

He merely nodded as the aircraft took off from the street and started flying north. Marcus looked down towards the city, to see the gas was still affecting some parts of it and the bodies of people that hadn't escaped in time.

Their faces were almost deformed in a way that could give someone nightmare.

While Marcus, and many of the SAS operators, were all used to this and were as affected by something like this.

For the young man, there was a small fear in the back of his mind about the gas being used where he was told that Sylvia would be performing as she was one of the few performers that had fans in this part of the world.

She was also one of the few Genestella in this world that had the privilege of traveling to other countries unlike most that were kept in check by most countries simply because of the fear they had of the Genestella's abilities.

"The strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown..."

Marcus muttered a few words to a quote that he remembered reading once and it never left his mind the more he saw what had happened in this world of theirs.

A few minutes had passed and they soon went from seeing buildings to fields as they entered the countryside. It didn't take long for them to be contacted by Baseplate about their mission they were given.

"Bravo 2, we have a situation developing at the moment in Oxford. It involves the Genestella that's been performing these last few weeks here in our little nation. While this sort of mission wouldn't be our issue, it seems that...outside forces have forced us to retrieve the girl and to make sure that no harm comes her way."

One of the soldiers spoke, "If the girl is a bloody Genestella, then why the hell should we be doing anything. The damn things can protect themselves better than we can protect others."

Just as Marcus was about to speak up, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Wollcraft merely looked at him, while they may have been wearing gas mask, Marcus knew the man well and knew what he was trying to tell him. He nodded back to his CO and continued to listen to the briefing.

"Corporal, I understand the reasoning though don't forget that no matter who the Genestella, they are under the same law. They harm anyone human beings, regardless of who they are, they are to be arrested and sent a prison somewhere in some third world country to spend the rest of their days. Besides the corporate rulers also spoke up, they have made it clear that they can not lose any assets in this terrorist attack."

Baseplate made sure that no one would argue with him.

Once the commander had cut off communications with them, Wollcraft looked towards the other SAS operators that were assigned to them. Reminding them of what they were sent here to do.

"I repeat; the girl is not to engage if there are any hostiles in the area. Am I clear?"

Every single one of them nodded back, including Marcus.

A few minutes had passed as they were soon approaching Oxford, a city that was home to a little over a hundred thousand people. Though what they was unlike anything they've ever seen as the city was alive with sounds of war.

"Baseplate! This Wollcraft, the city of Oxford is under heavy attack from an unknown hostile force! I say again, the city is under attack!"

Soon the black hawk came up on the city as sounds of gunfire could be heard all over. Down below them were police officers and what little military forces available were engaging an unknown enemy.

A moment later the radio had sparked to life. With command telling the soldiers the kind of news they didn't need to hear.

"Bravo 2-2, we're, uh, getting reports of an unknown enemy force attacking Oxford at the moment and from what we could gather, they seem to be heading for the town hall! Move in and support the local law enforcement units there."

"Roger that Baseplate."

Responded Wollcraft as he looked towards Marcus, "Burns, get on the mini while we support them from the ground."

Knowing that his job came first, the young man nodded as the black hawk started nearing the building that was currently being used as a shelter for those that couldn't escape in time. Just as they neared the building, the pilot saw someone on the rooftop with an object on their shoulder.

It was here that they recognized what it was...

"We got someone with a RPG on our left!"

Marcus quickly got on the heavy weapon and aimed it towards where the pilot directed. Pressing the trigger, a short burst of a few hundred rounds left the barrel, and that was seen of the weapon firing was something that seemed like a spit of fire.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Once the sound had dissipated, all anyone could see was the rooftop riddled with bullet holes and a mass of flesh was all that was left of the individual.

The pilot called out the young man, "Thanks Burns, I owe you one."

Marcus could only shake his head, "Damn right you do."

The transport was soon hovering over the building that was the city hall. As he was instructed, Marcus needed to stay within the transport and provide covering fire for his team that was preparing to support those on the ground.

Once the aircraft came to a stop, they soon grappled down to the top of the building. Leaving Marcus with the pilots until they cleared the area of enemy forces.

Not too long had past before Wollcraft's voice came over the radio.

"Alright lads, here's the plan; Burns is to provide covering fire while we make sure that whatever civilians left in the area are making their way towards the town hall. From what we know, there's a large group that's supposed to be here in a few minutes. Or so they say."

The black hawk started to patrol the area and provide covering fire for the police trying to protect the civilians.

It was here that the pilots soon noticed windows on some of the buildings nearby were being shattered, though they quickly realized that these were enemy soldiers armed with either heavy weapons or snipers.

Quickly moving towards the buildings, Marcus soon started unleashing the devesating weapon once more.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Just as they started moving away, the cockpit came alive with alarms and they saw what was the cause of this. Approaching the helicopter were stinger missiles launched from some distance away in order to avoid detection.

"Shite! We got stinger missiles on our asses! I'm popping flares!"

 **~o0o~**

 **That Same Day**

 **Oxford, England**

Sylvia never expected anything like this to happen.

All she thought would happen is performing as she normally done and spend what time she could with her boyfriend, though he did say he had work at the last minute. Though she understood what it was like to be busy at the worst possible time.

Sometimes, the girl was amazed at how... wrong this world was.

While the world may have been consumed in conflict, to see it expand into western Europe was something that Sylvia never expected to see. The young woman knew that because of what she was, there was very little that could be done by her.

If she attacked a human being, then she would be thrown into prison with no hesitation whatsoever.

While Sylvia did everything in her power to help those around her, it was one of the few thing she could as the police that were with them had fought the enemy forces attacking the city.

As she was leading a rather large group of people that were trying to avoid being killed in the fight against the two sides, most of them heard the familiar sound of helicopter blades spinning above them as they saw a military transport.

Thinking that they were saved for a moment, time seemed to slow down as she saw flares being shot out as they seem to be avoiding something.

It didn't take long for them to realize what it was.

A rocket of some sort had exploded near the helicopter, causing the transport to start spinning out of control.

Fearing what may happen, Sylvia saw it starting to regain control until the tail rotor had slowed down. Soon the transport began the spin of death once again and this time, there was no last minute miracle to save it from crashing.

Realizing what had happened, knowing that there was a chance that whoever was inside the transport may have survived the crash, though it was a slim chance nonetheless.

As the group of officers were discussing something amongst themselves. Once she came near them, they all glared at the girl with either disgust or hatred as the Genestella were considered monsters for being more than human.

"What about the crashed helicopter? Aren't we going to see if anyone survived the crash?"

Her question went unanswered as the officers went back to discussing whatever it was they were talking about. It was here that she realized that waiting for what these people had to say wasn't going to get them anywhere.

Since the girl was considered an important 'asset' by the Intergrated Enterprise, they had assigned her bodyguards that would deal with threats that were humans while they expected her to take care of threats that were identified as Genestella.

Though her bodyguards were initially killed during the early portion of the attack as they were unprepared to deal with well armed soldiers.

Once the group started moving once again, Sylvia had broken off without many noticing. Even though she was quite easy to spot. Traveling through the endless alleyways and using the rising column of smoke to find the crash-site.

After a few minutes, the Genestella had saw found the downed bird in the side of a building. Knowing that force of the impact would kill anyone, she still had a feeling that someone must have survived the crash.

Due to her physical attributes being better than that of a human, it allowed her to make the jump to where the helicopter was. As she landed on the floor, she saw that the transport was broken into two pieces.

Finding the cockpit first, she moved some of the debris around and to her horror had found the pilots dead with glass impaling one of them in the skull and the other had a broken neck and blood was pouring out of his mouth.

It was here that she heard a radio inside the building.

"Sgt. Burns! Do you copy?!"

Using her senses, she followed the source of the noise and found the fueslage of the aircraft. Moving some of the fallen debris, the young woman found a body of a man that was wearing an all black combat uniform while wearing a gas mask.

"Burns?! What is your current location?"

Without even thinking about it, Sylvia had picked up the radio.

"Umm... hello?"

The voice on the other side sounded surprised, "Who the hell is this? Where the hell is Sgt. Burns?!"

Sylvia quickly checked the man's pulse and was relieved to know that he was simply uncouscious with some bruises that he had taken from the crash. Though she answered the radio with a sneaking susipicion that this man was who they were talking about.

"Well, he's right here on the floor. I found him here after I saw the helicopter he was in had crashed."

Relief filled the man's voice, "Thank god... the bloody kid manage to survive something like that, man they weren't kidding when they said he was a tough bastard to kill. All right lady, thanks for helping his ass out besides who is this?"

She bit her lip in thought as she wondered if it was safe to say her name, "I'm... Sylvia Lyyneheym."

The man didn't sound all that surprised, "Well kid, it's your lucky day. We were sent in to find you after we got the order from command. Look, can you tell us you're position at the moment."

Just as she was about to look out one of the windows by the street, she felt a hand grab her wrist. Her reflexes were about to take over until she heard the voice of the person grabbing her wrist, one that she was familiar with.

"Bloody hell, that hurt."

Seeing the man sit up, there was something that Sylvia couldn't shake of, like she knew him. There was something in her mind that told her she was right about this, she said a name that Sylvia never expected to say in a place like this.

"M-Marcus?"

 **Hardline**

 **Chapter 13: New World, Old Rules**

By now, Ayato and his team had heard about what had happened in Europe.

Most of the European continent was currently under lock down as the terrorist attack had been launched in major cities across western Europe. This fact didn't shock the mercenaries currently stuck in China with no way out of the country.

"We're sorry. All lines are busy at the moment. Please hang up and try to call again later."

Salazar was resorted to call command using an operator, though there wasn't much luck with it, as all communications with any nearby command centers and ISD naval forces were cut off after the terrorist attack in Europe had most likely disabled all the defense systems.

"I can't get anyone on the horn."

As they hid inside of the nearby buildings while they tried to find some sort of transport that would get them out of China. With PLM forces now inside the country, they all knew it was a matter of time until they were found by either the Chinese government or PLM.

Something that neither one of them wanted at the moment.

In the background, one the channels was playing an english speaking news network about what had happened.

' _ **Europe had experienced one of the worst terrorist attacks in it's history as multiple countries were hit by chemical weapons unlike anything that has ever been used. While the United States and Russia have pledged to help the European nations in any way possible, they have already denied any chance of military forces being sent in.**_ '

Soon another reporter had started speaking, " _ **Troops are already stretched to... scattered all over the world...**_ "

Then a set of words began to move across the screen, " _ **ISD FORCES HAVE BEEN MOBILIZED TO PROVIDE SECURITY FOR EUROPEAN NATIONS IN NEED. THOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN DENIED ANY ACCESS INTO CHINA BY IT'S PRESIDENT, ACCUSING THE ORGANIZATION OF BEING THE REASON WHY THIS ATTACK HAD HAPPENED.**_ "

"This sucks... we got no transport to get us off the country and the terrorist attack of the century just happened under everyone's noses. Now their defenses are down and are currently suspectable to attack."

Ayato muttered to himself as he checked out the window, seeing that it was still pouring like hell outside. Though there was a thought he had in mind and it involved who was possibly behind the attack on the European nations.

' _Could it be... them?_ '

Salazar seem to have the same idea as he started speaking, "Do you guys think that the PLM could be responsible for this attack on Europe. I mean it's the only thing that makes sense with how much we've been snooping around the PLM and their connections."

Harper chimed in with his own thoughts.

"If the chemical weapon is anything to go by, I'm sure it is the same bastards. Though our biggest concern is how we're getting out of here with this guy over here."

The older man pointed towards their prisoner, who was still handcuffed as well as blindfolded. Both David and Salazar had gotten all the information possible from the man about the possible location of someone else that could provide them with even more information.

"But... we still need to get out of here first in order for this information to be useful to anyone."

David spoke up for the first time and the others knew that without any assistance from the ISD, it would be nearly impossible for them to get out. However, Ayato looked out the window once again and saw heavily armored SUVs passing through the area.

With the red star making it obvious who they were dealing with.

"Guys, we got company. This time, it's the locals who got beef with us... besides, I got a friend who can get us out of here."

During Ayato's time in the Middle East, he had come to know a man that had experience operating military vehicles and who ran his own private military corporation with a sizable force of men to perform jobs. It was time that he called in the favor that the older man owed Ayato.

"I know a guy. Let's find a payphone. They still exist? Don't they?"

All four soldiers knew that they needed to be quick about this with the Chinese sending in their own special forces into the area. It would be only a matter of time until they would be discovered - possibly even captured.

Before they left, Salazar and David told the others about what they learned from the criminal.

"All we got outta Rojas is that there's a man who worked on the chemical compound that was used in Europe and in South America a few years ago - who's currently hiding out in Hong Kong at the moment. Besides that there's a man in the gulag that would know where Vendrick is at the moment.

David added in his own words, "It's all we got. If this con's the bait to catch that psychopath, let's hang him from a tree."

 **["The Hornet's Nest"]**

 **[June 16th, 2025 - 19:19:42]**

 **[LT. Ayato Amagiri]**

 **[ISD Special Forces]**

 **[Shanghai, Republic of China]**

As the rain continued to pour on the city, Ayato and his team was currently using the abandoned buildings in order to avoid the Chinese military forces currently sweeping through the area. It was here that they needed to make it out of the area as quickly as they could without alerting anyone.

They moved through the area, careful to avoid areas with large masses of people. The young mercenary knew that with his ghost mask, he knew that many people wouldn't exactly take too kindly to someone wearing a mask like his.

Hearing static on his radio, Ayato spoke into it. "Guys, you got anything?"

Salazar was the first one to speak up as they all moved across rooftops, to using the people in order to stay hidden from the military units in the area. "Sir, the Chinese special forces are checking people now. I think there's around fifty or so, front and back."

"Well boys, looks like we're going to have to play this safe. Ain't no telling what's going to happen if we try going loud."

The youngest member said, though with the group deciding to go stealth this time, it meant what might happen to their prisnor.

"What about Rojas?"

Salazar asked, wanting to know what they were going to do with him after he told them all the information he had. Ayato told him what to do with the arms dealer and they all knew the young soldier held no sympathy for the enemy.

"The streets'll take care of him for us."

The older man agreed with him, "Works for me."

Salazar had picked up Rojas by the collar of his shirt and threw him into one of the alleyways and made sure to aim his gun at the dealer in order to get him moving. Just as the man started running, he was soon gunned down by someone unknown.

"Shit! We got PLM forces left in the area!"

All of them had heard what he said and soon most of them were looking at their surroundings in case there were enemy forces hiding in the buildings. Ayato kept the safety off on his assault rifle as he started heading for the location of the LZ.

"Nikolai! We're traveling along the rooftops of the buildings in the area! Bring the chopper to the market, do you copy, over!"

The Russian's voice came through the radio, "Ok my friend, I am on the way!"

"Alright everyone... you guys better be ready for the coming storm in a few moments."

Ayato's voice was loud and clear over the radio. Harper was the first one to respond with some enthusiam for what they were trying to do; escape with the information that they got from the arms dealer.

"Let's do this!"

The moment that Ayato had started moving, all hell had broke loose when sounds of gunfire could be heard in the distance. Wondering what it was, the young mercenary called out to the others in order to find out what was happening.

 ***RATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATAT***

"You guys hear that?"

Harper was the first to respond, "Yeah, sounds like the Chinese and the PLM finally met and it sounds like a blast right now..."

"Really Harper? Now's not the time for jokes."

A moment had passed when Salazar spoke up, "Tangos at the ground level dead ahead!"

It was here that the young mercenary continued moving through the alleyways and made sure to stay out of open areas that allowed for either the PLM or Chinese to spot him, "We've gotta get to the helicopter - head through the gate to the market! Move!"

Another voice came through the radio, this time it was David's. "Contact! Foot-mobiles on the rooftops, closing in from the south!"

Soon both Ayato and Harper met up and began to fight their way through the PLM forces that were in their way. Ayato had taken cover behind one of the concrete walls and pulled out a grenade from his pouch.

He soon pulled the pin and flung the weapon in the direction of the enemy.

 ***BANG***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

Harper continued to lay down a wall of lead in the direction of the enemy forces. Just as they saw the enemy forces retreating, they soon realized that it was for good measure as Salazar warned the two of them about vehicles approaching.

"We got technical comin' in from the south!"

Like he said, two pick-up trucks with mounted machine guns had appeared and started firing at the two soldiers with no hesitation for the nearby locals.

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATTATATATTATATATATATATATAT***

"We got another technical! Take it out!"

Peeking around the corner, Ayato aimed at the gunner and with a few rounds had turned the man's head into nothing but blood and brain matter splattered across the wall. A sight that would disturb most, but didn't even faze the young man.

Harper and David had taken care of the other vehicle, and once they were clear that there wasn't anymore, they soon started making their to the LZ that the chopper was supposed to be landing at the market nearby.

"Head through that gate! Keep pushing to the evac point!"

It was here that they were under fire from all directions as the PLM were starting to close in on their location. Something that would cause them more trouble than the team of soldiers needed at the moment.

"Go! Go! Go!"

Yelled out Salazar as they heard the sounds of gunfire being shot in their direction.

 ***RATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAT***

They soon approached an open area that had rooftops all around them, though it didn't stay that way for long as the PLM soon started appearing from the buildings and began to fire on the mercenaries' position.

"Shit! We're under heavy fire!"

As the fire-fight grew, the four mercenaries soon realized that they needed to get out of here as the helicopter probably was going to run out of fuel before getting them out of the city. Ayato threw a few grenades to cover their escape as they started making a run for one of the alleyways that lead to the market.

 ***RATATATATATAT***

Ayato fired a few small burst of rounds in the direction of the terrorist, trying to kill a few of them to make their lives easier.

"Let's go, let's go! We've gotta push through these streets to the market! Watch for flanking routes!"

Moving through the streets of the area, they faced heavy resistance from the PLM and with constantly turning the corner to find more of them waiting, they needed to hurry up and make it to the LZ before it was too late.

"David, Harper! Lay down some fire on the intersection! Heads up! Alley on the left! Keep moving! We're almost at the market!"

Soon another shootout happens at the intersection as more technicals appeared and started laying down suppersive fire against the four of them. Both David and Harper soon started firing at the technical, trying to kill the gunner and make sure the vehicle was unable to be used.

 ***RATATATATATATATATAT***

A few mags used and the enemy forces had scattered as their numbers quickly dwindled from the onslaught of lead.

"Squad! Spread out and cut through the market! Move!"

At the market, the mercenaries were in for a surprise as Chinese special forces were waiting for them. Ayato slid behind one of the stands as did the others and started to return fire against the Chinese forces blocking their escape.

 ***RATATATATATATATAT***

 ***RATATATATATATATATATAT***

"We need to end this! Now!"

The longer this engagement continued, the higher chance that they had in being captured if they didn't make it to the chopper.

"Contacts above us at 11 o'clock, firing blind!"

Salazar had fired a small burst of rounds towards one of the buildings as some of the special forces operators were hiding inside of it.

"Tango coming out of the shack on the right!"

Warned Harper as they continued to fight through waves of both PLM forces and Chinese forces attempting to kill or capture them. Survival was all that any of them could think about at this very moment.

They push through the market and eliminate as many hostile forces in the area as possible for the helicopter to land with no trouble whatsoever. Nikolai soon arrived in a Pave Low helicopter to get them out.

The team moves through a couple houses on their way to the LZ.

"There's Nikolai's Pave Low! Let's go! Nikolai! ETA 20 seconds! Be ready for immediate dustoff!"

However...

He soon responded with apprehension as he saw the enemy forces from a distance that was closing in on their position. Nikolai knew that if they didn't do this quickly, then they would all die as a result of their failure.

"That may not be fast enough! I see more militia closing in on the market!"

Ayato knew they needed to be quicker and soon barked out the orders to the other men, "Pick up the pace! Let's go!"

The Pave Low soon becomes encircled by both RPG and gunfire as the buildings all around them had opened up on the aircraft that was the only thing that would guaranteed the safety of Ayato's team out of the country.

But, Nikolai could be heard over the radio. "It's too hot! We will not survive this landing!"

Not wanting to take the risk, Ayato had called out to the Russian, "Nikolai wave off, wave off! We'll meet you at the secondary LZ instead! Go!"

Nikolai responded with relief in his voice, "Very well, I will meet you there! Good luck!"

Nikolai started making his way towards the secondary LZ that they had set up in case the first one would be too dangerous for him to land. Then Ayato looked back at the others as they continued picking off the enemy forces after them.

"Come on! We've got to get to the rooftops, this way!"

The team of mercenaries had eliminated what was left of the PLM forces after them and soon started making their way across the rooftops of the buildings and saw the helicopter making it's approach towards the LZ.

"Let's go, let's go!"

The Russian soon contacted them, though with some humor in his tone. "My friend, from up here, it looks like the whole village is trying to kill you!"

Rolling his eyes, Ayato spoke out. "Tell me something I don't know! Just get ready to pick us up!"

Salazar looked ahead of them and saw that they needed to hurry, "We're running out of rooftop!"

The young mercenary looked back at Salazar, "We can make it! Go go go!"

Once they reach the last bit of roof that would lead to the secondary LZ, Ayato had lost his footing when he tried to jump the distance between the two rooftops. Ayato had jumped the distance, but barely makes it. He soon slips and falls before David can catch him.

Then the young man's vision, blacks out for a few moments.

He soon heard a voice over the radio and Ayato realized that it was David's, "Ayato! Ayato! Wake up! We need to get out of here!"

Ayato stood up with his vision somewhat blurred from the fall though it took a few moments for his vision to gradually sharpen to normal and allow him to start making his way back to the rooftops where the Pave Low was.

"Ayato! We can see them from the chopper! They're coming for you, dozens of 'em!"

All around him, the young mercenary can see large groups of both PLM forces and Chinese special forces converging on him.

David reminded the young mercenary of what he needed to do at this very moment, "Ayato! There's too many of them! Get the hell out of there and find a way to the rooftops! Move! Run for it! Get to the rooftops!"

He started to sprint through the buildings with the enemy's guns firing at him.

Though David continued to talk him through what this situation at the moment. "Ayato, we're circling the area but I can't see you! You've got to get to the rooftops!"

The young man heads down a narrow alley, up through a house, and reaches the rooftops of where it would allow him to reach the position of the helicopter. All he could think about was getting some sleep when this was all over.

David finally saw Ayato a few rooftops away from them, "Ayato! I see you! Jump down to the rooftops and meet us south of your position! Go!"

Nikolai warned them of their fuel problem, "Gas is very low! I must leave in thirty seconds!"

It was then that Ayato mentally counted down thirty seconds in his mind as he continued to navigate the buildings and corridors that lead to the rooftops as the sound of voices and the helicopter could be heard outside.

"Roach! We're running on fumes here! You got thirty seconds! Run! Left! Turn left and jump down! Come on!"

Ayato had sprinted as fast as he could and after sliding down one of the last rooftops, he ran towards the Pave Low as it was getting farther and farther away from the ledge of the building. He soon heard David's voice.

"Jump for it!"

Using his increased abilties, Ayato jumped the distance and grabbed the ladder.

Both David and Harper reached down and helped up Ayato as he getting onto the ramp of the transport helicopter. David looked towards the pilot the moment that Ayato managed to a get onto the ramp, "Nikolai! We got him! Get us out of here!"

Nikolai turned around and looked into the back of the helicopter and called out to Ayato, "Where to, my friend?"

"Just get us to the sub..."

Answered Ayato once he was pulled onboard the moving aircraft, the young man didn't care about anything else at the moment.

With his heart racing from what had just happened to him and him nearly losing his life against the PLM as well as the Chinese forces.

The pave low started flying away from the area as it flew out to the location of the submarine waiting for them, though every single of them were beyond exhausted after having to escape not only the Chinese military, but the terrorist group known as the PLM.

' _Finally... that's over now._ '

Ayato could only close his eyes as he knew they were done with this mission... for now anyway.

 **~o0o~**

 **Location: Over China**

 **Few Minutes Later**

Every single one of them were silent on the ride back to one of the ISD submarines off the coast of China. They had wondered what was going in Europe with the chemical attack that went off just a few hours ago.

"How many people do you think died?"

Salazar asked the question most people would be concerned with, though all the others inside knew what he meant by the question.

Ayato was the first to answer him, "If it's the gas we're all thinking they're using then the death toll will be pretty high compared to any other terrorist attack in history. Hell, it'll make the attack on the U.S back twenty years ago look like a blimp compared to this."

It was how the young mercenary felt, it was how they all felt at the moment.

Looking at the holographic monitor that Ayato had available since entering Seidoukan Academy, he saw all the news reports that were coming in and reporting to the people of the world about what had happened to the European nations.

There were different headlines from; ' _ **CHEMICAL ATTACK ACROSS EUROPE; Chemical weapons used in coordinated attacks across Europe.**_ '

While another one that Ayato found said, ' _ **CHEMICAL ATTACK IN WESTMINSTER; A 'dirty bomb' explodes in London.**_ '

This was just one of many headlines as they knew who was behind this attack though they didn't think it would take long for them to find out who exactly launched this attack on them. Allowing for the world to realize that they can't ignore what's going on around them.

Some reports were calling it the worst terror event in history, that very few incident could compare to this.

"Let's hope this doesn't get any worse... God knows that those people don't need anymore trouble than with what's happened at the moment."

David said, he wasn't like Ayato where he looked at what could possibly come out of this. Though he didn't blame the guy for thinking the way he did, it was a result of his experience of becoming a mercenary early on.

Soon they heard the communications between the military forces of different nations as the SAS of the United Kingdom were dealing with attacks on their cities like Oxford to London being heavily affected by the chemical weapon.

With the radius of the gas reaching a few miles and covering a large portion of the city.

" _I repeat; Downing Street is within the contamination radius, over!_ "

Though cities wouldn't be the only thing that was affected by the gas, they soon saw the message that was sent by the GIGN. They were the special forces unit of the French military and it was reported that their barracks were hit by the gas attack.

Ayato pressed the video on the monitor and saw the message play out in front of him.

In front of him was the GIGN Commander, who's name was commander Morel, " **... _(coughing)_... This is GIGN HQ. My men are dead or dying! _(Coughing)_... I've been exposed!** "

The transmission cut-off from there as they soon saw another report coming in, one that came from one of the ISD military bases that was inside Germany. Wondering what this about, Ayato started listening to the distress.

The map in front of him moved towards what was once the United States Air force base called Ramstein A.F.B, which is now the Air force European Headquarters in Germany for all ISD air force units throughout Europe.

" _This is Ramstein! We're under attack!_ "

Soon another voice answered, one that Ayato knew well. It was one of the generals that was assigned to dealing with anything inside of Europe. "Roger we are aware of the gas attack and are sending decon units your way."

The commander of Ramstein A.F.B had said something else and replied with something that made Ayato realize what the gas attack's true purpose was, " _Not the gas! We're under attack by unknown enemy ground forces!_ "

Overlord was trying to understand what exactly the commander of the base was trying to say, " _Say again, Ramstein. What enemy forces are you talking about?_ "

It was once Ayato saw a map, realizing what had just happened; an all-out assault on Europe was just launched.

" _The entire PLM military army! Request immediate assistance!_ "

The commander pleaded as they were losing contact with them, it was here that Ayato started looking through different video feeds to see large amounts of enemy forces pouring into nations like France, Germany, and many other western European nations came under siege from the attack. With heavy main battle tanks like the - now obsolete - T-90 were rolling through the streets of Paris while attack helicopters devastated the ISD.

' ** _Eyewitnesses are now reporting Russian tanks rolling down the Champs-_** ** _Élysées_** ** _._** '

Soon he saw another headline and it was here that Europe was under full scale war with the PLM attacking. Europe, once again, had fallen into chaos with fighting raging across the entire continent at this point.

"This was no act of terrorism. The attacks were intended to cripple our defenses and pave the way for an invasion. We need to hit them now with everything we've got."

Everything the ISD had needed to be sent to Europe in order to repel the attack from the PLM forces. Soon another video feed showed an assault in Hamburg and it was here that Ayato remembered something about who was currently in that city.

One of the general's aids had rushed into to give the news, "Sir, we've lost contact with the delegation in Hamburg."

The general had decided to pull back over five flights of C-130s that were heading for North Africa. All available asset was needed in order to repel this attack and it was here that he had gotten word about the British sending in a special forces team to support them as news about the prime minister's family had appeared in Hamburg.

He soon contacted the SAS operators under his command.

"Bravo 2-2, this is Overlord actual. You are being re-routed for Hamburg. We've got a principal level hostage rescue."

Soon Wollcraft's voice came over the comm link, " _Roger that sir, I heard the prime minister's family was found in Hamburg._ "

"Yes, that would be true as some of our men came across a truck that was carrying them... though they're pinned down at the moment near where your team is being sent to. The US has asked of us to retrieve their president as he was lost amidst the chaos."

The special forces operator replied, " _Yes sir. You yanks can count on us._ "

"Your target's code-name is Goalpost. Call it in when you retrieve the HVT."

 **~o0o~**

 **Asterisk City, Japan**

The darkness was beginning to cover the Eastern side of the world as the sun fell behind the horizon. Looking out the window was Julis as she knew somewhere in the world at the moment was Ayato, doing only god knows what.

She knew that her lover was currently working on whatever it was that he was assigned to.

Though he was sworn to secrecy so he couldn't say much to either Claudia or Julis about what kind of work he was up to at the moment. While the two understood the need for him having to remain silent whenever they asked him.

"I think with what's going on in the world, the need for secrets is understandable."

Claudia spoke up, seeing that Julis was still a bit upset that Ayato couldn't tell them anything about what he was doing. It was their business to know where he was and with what's been going on in the world, they worried about him.

Julis stood up from the edge of the window that she was sitting on and walked towards the television. If she couldn't find out personally, the princess would find out the way everyone else would have to;

Through news reports and media outlets.

That was the only way the two of them would have any semblance of any idea as to where Ayato was.

Once they turned on the television, they soon a news station that was currently talking about the recent violent throughout Eastern Europe as it continued to tear itself a part from the amount of fights breaking out between those loyal to the government and those against it. With major forces like the ISD backing the government forces while the terrorist group known as the PLM helped out the separatist forces.

Both of them found themselves watching scenes that came straight out of hell as soldiers were being blown up to civilians being shot and killed without any hesitation whatsoever.

...Even children weren't spared from this brutality.

Sometimes, they just couldn't understand why people were doing this. How could anyone live in a world where fighting and killing each other was the only solution in this day and age?

Julis was, to say the least, elated to know her kingdom was spared from the fighting and the violence hasn't spilled over.

"Ayato did tell us that these were the kind of places he worked in. I just can't understand how he could stand any of this? Seeing people die as if their lives have no meaning simply because of those that can't find a solution through words."

Claudia muttered out, the clips of even soldiers being killed didn't help her nor the princess.

In fact, it made it worse.

Deciding to see something else, they soon found a news channel talking about violence that broke out recently in China.

Images played on the screen of fighting between PLM forces and some other military force as they were well-armed soldiers that had experience on their side. The news station played videos that were taken by those brave enough to record the fighting that happened in Shanghai just a few hours ago.

With this piece of news had frightened the girls, seeing that a country just a few hours away was included in the fighting that was currently taking place.

The individuals that were either military units or some PMC were seen chasing an individual through the streets, there the two saw one of them wearing a ghost mask and their eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses.

"Claudia? Do you think that could be Ayato?"

She didn't say anything for a few moments until one of the soldiers said something to the other two, including the man wearing the ghost mask.

"Possibly? We can't say for sure that's Ayato because with everything that happens in the world, it's impossible to do so. He could be operating any where on the globe."

Realizing that she was right, Julis continue to look at the image of the man with the mask. In her own mind, she wondered what exactly it was that Ayato was doing at this moment. Though both girls would later on find that out that their lover wasn't in the best of positions as the moment.

Soon both girls heard a knock on the door, Claudia had approached the door and opened it. Only to reveal a familiar short girl with blue hair; Saya.

"Saya? What are you doing here?"

Though the girl didn't look pleased at the moment. She merely entered the room and stood in front of the television, without saying a word to either girls. Curious as to what she was doing, Julis asked the girl.

"What are you doing Saya?"

However...

The girl's answer wasn't anything that they were expecting.

"I want to know where the hell Ayato is, right now."

Saya's response wasn't exactly all that kind, "You know, Ayato hasn't really spoken to me since that day and I've been thinking about what your purpose was in talking to me Julis... because afterward, the only thought that I had was there was something going on between you two."

Her response seemed to surprise Julis with the assumption - even though it was correct - it was an assumption nonetheless.

"So where is he?"

The next question came out of nowhere and Claudia came up with a quick answer that was somewhat true.

"He's currently working at the moment Saya."

Saya didn't seem to buy the answer and only looked even more upset with Claudia and Julis about what they said.

"Look, Ayato's job is... more complicated than you think..."

The girl merely tapped her foot and glared at them, "Then why don't you tell me about it then? It can't be that bad to where he can't tell me."

Julis saw out of the corner of her eye that Claudia was doing the same as both girls were torn between keeping what they knew a secret or to tell Saya about Ayato's life as a mercenary these past few years, but they realized something.

Ayato would be angry and upset that they told Saya, but he would be disappointed that he trusted them with something and they went behind his back.

"I'm sorry Saya... you'll have to wait until Ayato gets back and he said it would be a few more days at the least."

Though that was the answer she was looking for and merely shook her head while muttering something to her, though Claudia manage to catch it before the girl had left the room. Once she slammed the door shut, they both sighed.

"You know that she's really upset Julis?"

The princess was agitated at the moment, "No, I didn't notice that Claudia... I feel terrible for lying to her... but that was our only choice."

While they were wondering what to do with Saya, they didn't see the television as a headline appeared that would shake the world for as long as it will be able to remember.

' _ **EUROPE AT WAR!**_ '

* * *

 **Welp, that's another one done and the plot ever thickens...I think.**

 **So yeah, I hoped you enjoyed the story and I'll see ya guys next time.**


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